Boozhoo, sekon, tansi, greetings. The Centre for Aboriginal Student Services (CASS) will be in Vari Hall Monday with a table providing samples of three sisters soup and bannock bread, as a way to promote awareness of Indigenous peoples and of the upcoming National Aboriginal Day – June 21.
CASS will hand out samples in Vari Hall, from 11:30am to 3pm. There will also be information on events happening downtown June 21.
“Three sisters soup is a traditional dish that not only tastes delicious, but it shows how advanced the Aboriginal people were with agriculture,” says Amber Wynne, student peer leader at CASS. Wynne say the three sisters vegetable garden, comprised of corn, beans and 
squash, works together, as “the corn would take the nitrogen from the soil, which was readily replenished by the bean plant, and the squash leaves would keep the soil moist by protecting it from the sun”.
Inside the Centre for Aboriginal Student Services
In celebration of the 16th Annual National Aboriginal Day, CASS is bringing the event to the students, staff and faculty at York.
“It’s important to recognize and celebrate the rich culture and history behind Indigenous peoples, while promoting inclusion and unity among all nations,” says Jolene John, CASS administrative assistant. CASS would like to “share the diverse cultures of First Nations, Inuit and Metis people while also promoting awareness that Indigenous people are here and thriving,” says John.
The National Indian Brotherhood, now the Assembly of First Nations, first called for a National Aboriginal Day in 1982. It was to be a day that commemorated Aboriginal solidarity.
In 1995, The Sacred Assembly (a national conference of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people) once again called for a national holiday to celebrate the contributions of Aboriginal peoples. Finally, in 1996 former Governor General Romeo LeBlanc declared June 21 as National Aboriginal Day.
Some events that will be taking place in the Toronto area are as follows:
June 18 to 23
Art Show
Sponsored by the Toronto District School Board Aboriginal Education Centre
Toronto City Hall Rotunda, 100 Queen St. W.
June 21
National Aboriginal Day Sunrise Ceremony & Flag Raising
Podium Roof, Toronto City Hall, 100 Queen St. W.
5:30am
Celebrate the summer solstice with First Nations’ dancing, drumming and a sunset ceremony
Fort York National Historic Site, 250 Fort York Blvd.
6pm to sunset
All My Relations’ National Aboriginal Day
Allendale Gardens Park
12pm to 6pm
June 23
Na-Me-Rez Outdoor Traditional Powwow
Wells Hills Park, East of Bathurst & St. Clair West
Grand Entry starts at 12pm
June 29
Scarbourough Powwow
20 Waldock St., Scarborough, Ontario
Sunrise ceremony at 5:30am
Grand Entry at 12pm
June 30
Aboriginal History Month Celebration Event @ Dundas Square
Sponsored by the Native Canadian Centre of Toronto
12 to 8pm
For more information about celebrations that will be taking place around National Aboriginal Day, visit the Government of Canada’s Aboriginal Canada Portal website.
For more information on Aboriginal services, visit the CASS website or stop by the centre at 246 York Lanes.