Third annual aboriginal festival at UPEI March 24-25
The Mawi'omi Aboriginal Resource Centre at UPEI will host its third annual aboriginal festival on March 24 and 25, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., on the campus.
Connecting Aboriginal Cultures: Embracing the Past, Celebrating Our Future will take place in the W.A. Murphy Student Centre and the Main Building Faculty Lounge at UPEI. The festival is free and open to all ages.
Members of the local First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities will share their cultures in a mini powwow through dancing, drumming, singing, talking circles, traditional teachings, crafts, artist demonstrations, games, food, and activities for all ages and more. Artists, community leaders and elders will share their wisdom during the festival. Well-known dancer, drummer and singer Garland Joe Augustine from Elsipogtog, New Brunswick, will emcee the two-day festival.
National aboriginal role model Jessica Yee, from the Mohawk Nation, will give the keynote address on Wednesday, March 24, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., in the W.A. Murphy Student Centre. Yee is founder and executive director of the Native Sexual Health Network, a North America-wide organization working on issues of healthy sexuality, reproductive justice, cultural competency and youth empowerment. She is the 2009 recipient of the YWCA Young Woman of Distinction award, and was named one of 20 International Women's Health Heroes by Our Bodies, Our Blog.
Author and newspaper editor Julie Pellissier-Lush will give a writing workshop on Thursday, March 25, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., in the W.A. Murphy Student Centre. Pellissier-Lush wrote a book called My Mi'kmaq Mother to pay tribute to her mother but also to preserve in writing her history and culture for future generations. She is editor of the provincial aboriginal newspaper Kwimu Messenger, published by the Mi'kmaq Confederacy of Prince Edward Island.
Partnering with the Mawi'omi Aboriginal Resource Centre are UPEI, the Native Council of Prince Edward Island, the Aboriginal Women's Association of Prince Edward Island and the Mi'kmaq Confederacy of Prince Edward Island. The Centre has received funding for the festival from Canadian Heritage's Building Community through Arts and Heritage program.
Established in 2009, the Mawi'omi Aboriginal Resource Centre provides students with the opportunity to celebrate and share with others the cultural diversity of Aboriginal peoples on campus and throughout the community.
For more information, contact project manager Julie Bull at (902) 620-5125 or jbull@upei.ca, or visit the festival website.
