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MORGAN MODJESKI \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n
Diandra Ballantyne, from the Mosakahiken Cree Nation, gives her son Denzin, almost two, a smooch on Indigenous Peoples Day at the Forks in Winnipeg on June 21, 2026. She says the event is about celebrating Indigenous people, but also about the future as well.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Wearing a stunning jingle dress that shines in the summer sun, both Alea and Derek said they were proud to see their daughter participate in Sunday\u2019s celebration, as Derek\u2019s father was a victim of Canada\u2019s colonial systems that separated Indigenous families from their children.<\/p>\n
His father\u2019s siblings were taken to Birtle Indian Residential School, 285 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, and while he didn\u2019t attend \u2014 taken off reserve by his grandmother, potentially to protect him \u2014 he attended a different Catholic school, and even today, it\u2019s not something he talks about to Derek and Alea.<\/p>\n
But both said the 74-year-old Phil is always excited to talk about his granddaughters, and their future, and said to watch Sofia perform, fills him with joy.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t MORGAN MODJESKI \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n Derek Ducharme, his 11-year-old daughter Sofia, and his wife, Alea Elliott, from Landmark, Man. say they\u2019re proud of their daughter, who was set to dance at the the W\u00e1hk\u00f3htowin Powwow as part of Indigenous Peoples Day celebrations at the Forks in Winnipeg on June 21, 2026.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s very proud of her,\u201d said Derek. \u201cTo see her up there and doing this. Especially being involved in the culture and learning it. It makes him very proud.\u201d<\/p>\n Numerous family members came to watch the performance and Alea said the jingle dress Sofia was wearing for her performance will become a family heirloom in the years and decades to come.<\/p>\n \u201cI love people watching me,\u201d said the youngster. \u201cAnd I love the sounds of the jingle and the drum and I love trying to step to the beat.\u201d<\/p>\n Sofia said dancing gives her a sense of pride and said she felt nothing but excitement as she prepared to take part. Training through the Aboriginal School of Dance, she\u2019s also been taught about the deeper meanings behind the dress and celebrations.<\/p>\n \u201cThey build a lot of language into it as well,\u201d said Alea. \u201cThe meaning behind the jingle dress \u2026 the beadwork and the animals that we use and attach to ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t MORGAN MODJESKI \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n Alea Elliott, helps her daughter Sofia Ducharme, get ready to dance at the W\u00e1hk\u00f3htowin Powwow as part of Indigenous Peoples Day celebrations at the Forks in Winnipeg on June 21, 2026.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Forks\u2019 officials said from 3,000 to 6,000 were expected to attend Sunday\u2019s celebrations for National Peoples Day and Diandra Ballantyne said the event is an important one for both her and her son Denzin, who is almost two.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m happy to raise my son in this way,\u201d she said. \u201cI want him to know about his culture, because I know, for a long time, we weren\u2019t allowed to embrace our culture.\u201d<\/p>\n Originally from the Mosakahiken Cree Nation, as she held the little one in her arms, she said next year, she hopes to see her son participating in the powwow, as these types of celebrations are about the future.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re told to think seven generations ahead, so I think it is for our kids. For the ones who come after us,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Premier Wab Kinew acknowledged in a statement Sunday the fact Indigenous Peoples Day falls on Father\u2019s day, saying both are about \u201cwhere we come from and who we are.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Malaki Kennedy from Sayisi Dene First Nation participates in men’s fancy dance during the W\u00e1hk\u00f3htowin Powwow which was presented by the Southern Chiefs’ Organization.<\/p>\n \u201cJust as our parents pass on parts of themselves, previous generations passed on languages, cultural traditions and treaties that continue to shape Manitoba today,\u201d said Kinew.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have also inherited a province shaped by the leadership of the Red River M\u00e9tis. Louis Riel helped bring Manitoba into Confederation. John Norquay, a Red River M\u00e9tis, served in Manitoba\u2019s first legislature and later became premier. Their vision of a province where different peoples could live together remains part of the legacy all Manitobans share today.\u201d<\/p>\n Kinew also talked about the strength of Manitoba\u2019s northern identity connecting the province to Inuit communities in the Kivalliq region of Nunavut, saying Manitobans of all backgrounds have benefited from the Indigenous leadership that helped shape the region.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Ste-Genevi\u00e8ve, MB. resident Melanie Gamache, right, of Borealis Beading, instructs Yolanda Paulsen during a learn how to bead project.<\/p>\n \u201cToday is an opportunity to celebrate the Anishinaabe, Anisininew, Ininew, Dakota, Dene, Inuit and M\u00e9tis and all Manitobans,\u201d he said in the statement.<\/p>\n \u201cFor Indigenous people, today is a day to honour the gifts we have inherited from our ancestors. Our languages, stories, and songs. Keep your mind strong, your body strong, your spirit strong, and wear your hair long. It\u2019s a good day.\u201d<\/p>\n Ronald Gamblin, a member of the Indigenous community who was born-and-raised in Winnipeg who was taking part in the celebration at the Forks, said the event is also a chance to just honour Indigenous people and celebrate them.<\/p>\n \u201cOften when we think of Indigenous gatherings and activities, it\u2019s usually in opposition to something, or in support of a need in the community,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Evander TwoHearts, left, of Sagkeeng First Nation, and Adam Nibs greet each other a fist bump while participating in the men’s grass dance during the powwow.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s not often enough opportunities where we actually just get to be regeneratively and celebrate. Really moving away from the urgency of life to doing something we actually want to build together.\u201d<\/p>\n Gamblin said he feels the celebration is also important because it highlights Indigenous culture and showcases the strength of the community, as it\u2019s one often placed in a \u201cbase deficit\u201d position by government failings and colonial racism. The celebrations, at the Forks and elsewhere in the city, push the conversation forward for generations to come, while recognizing the work of generations that have come before.<\/p>\n \u201cFor Indigenous people, today is a day to honour the gifts we have inherited from our ancestors.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s about building in this curriculum, about building these celebratory spaces, these learning spaces \u2014 throughout this month, yes \u2014 but it\u2019s also about recognizing and empowering the movement that\u2019s already happening.\u201d<\/p>\n Getting ready to go on patrol with the Mama Bear Clan, Bernadette Folster said Sunday\u2019s patrol felt a little different, as while thousands gathered to celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day, there are many community members who won\u2019t be able to make it.<\/p>\n \u201cSo at least we\u2019re still out there,\u201d she said. \u201cBringing gifts of love to people.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBROOK JONES \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBROOK JONES \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBROOK JONES \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n