Kana'ta: Halifax celebrates Indigenous culture and traditions for Canada Day

The return of Halifax's Canada Day celebrations honoured the first people on the lands now known as Nova Scotia. The city of Halifax hosted an event called 'Kana'ta' – the Iroquois word for 'village' – that can also mean 'community.'

"So this year it gave us an opportunity to really rethink, reimagine, and really refocus what Canada Day could be and could look like," said Cheryl Copage-Gehue, the municipality’s Indigenous community engagement advisor.

Copage-Gehue says she consulted with Indigenous community members and knowledge-keepers to develop the event.

The idea, she says, was to share the cultural traditions of the Indigenous communities ancestral to the region. From the ancient Mi'kmaq game of waltes, to Inuit throat singing, Kana’ta wasn’t just a showcase Indigenous arts and music, but also evidence of their survival.

"That our culture is really still strong," said Dora Takatak, of the Atelihai Inuit program at the Mi’kmaw Friendship Centre.

"Although those residential schools and day schools were there to eradicate the culture, we’re still here and we'res till strong," adds Frances Palliser-Nicholas, also of Atelihai Inuit.

"I know some Indigenous communities are not fully supportive of recognizing this day, but I see this an opportunity to create more understanding of the day, but I see this as an opportunity to create more understanding of the Indigenous culture that's here, the first people of this territory and this land," said Copage-Gehue.

Such efforts to create understanding, says Copage-Gehue, don't have to end on Canada Day.

"So if you have a chance, if you're in Cape Breton this weekend, go to the Eskasoni Powwow that’s starting tomorrow, they're so open for everybody to come and experience our culture, our history, our language," said Copage-Gehue.

Kana'ta celebrations continued on Halifax’s Grand Parade Friday evening, with a special lineup of Indigenous musical performances.