National Aboriginal History Month 2015 Toronto Events

The Native Canadian Centre of Toronto has compiled this listing of events and is not responsible for any time changes etc… that may occur. Please contact the organizer of the event for the most up to date info. If you would like your event on this listing please contact [email protected].

June 2, 6:00 pm Full Moon Ceremony Native Canadian Centre of Toronto – 16 Spadina Rd, Toronto, ON 416-964-9087 This Ceremony was performed by Anishinaabe Women/Grandmothers and is a women’s ceremony. This knowledge has been passed down through generations and acknowledges our role as women and the responsibility we have with the water. This ceremony is open to all women of nations and cultures. Please bring your skirt, water and tobacco. For more information contact the Cultural Department 416-964-9087.

June 3, 2:00 pm Exploring Inuit Culture New Toronto Library, 110 Eleventh Street 416-393-5350 The Museum of Inuit Art presents a fun, hands-on program that explores both traditional and modern Inuit culture. Participants will also make their own iggaaks (snow goggles) to take home.

June 3, Doors at 5:00 pm Performance at 6:00 pm First Fire Dance Showcase Daniels Spectrum 585 Dundas St. East 416-360-4350 This program offers technical dance training for youth ages 14-18. The program consists of 4 different professional instructors teaching: contemporary - break dancing - hip hop - hoop dancing. Presented by Toronto Council Fire Cultural Centre.

June 3 - 14 Tuesday-Saturday 8:00 PM Sundays 2:00 PM Stitch by Cliff Cardinal Aki Studio 585 Dundas St East #250 Box Office Telephone 416-531-1402 Kylie Grandview, single mom, and one of the nameless faces that blip across the screens of internet pornography is seduced by her dreams of starring in a mainstream movie. In a twisted, turning series of self-sabotaging decisions ultimately resulting in the loss of her child, Stitch is Kylie’s last ditch effort to tell the truth about what happened to her face. Ticket information can be found at nativeearth.ca. Presented by Native Earth Performing Arts.

June 4, 1:30 pm Singing and Dancing First Nations Culture Albert Campbell Multipurpose Room. 496 Birchmount Road Singing and dancing is a very important part of First Nations culture which celebrates the connection with Mother Earth. While a form of merriment, it is also a form of prayer, to give thanks to ancestors and the Creator. Join us in celebrating Canadian Aboriginal culture with a discussion and performance of song, dance and drum. Drop in. Call 416-396-8890 for more information.

June 4, 7:00 pm Native American Footwear: Functional Works of Art North York Central Library auditorium. 5120 Yonge Street Join Andrea Field, Education Coordinator of the Bata Shoe Museum, as she explores the beauty of traditional decorative techniques on Native North American footwear. Learn how moccasins defined aboriginal identity and reflected the pride of the women who made them. Call 416-395-5660 to register.

June 5, 5:00 PM ANDPVA Presents Tim Johnson at Rom Royal Ontario Museum, 100 Queen’s Park Tim Johnson will talk about his experiences learning about the contributions made by Native musicians to popular music that led to the origins of the Smithsonian's NMAI exhibit Up Where We Belong: Native Musicians in Popular Music, the Rumble album featuring Derek Miller, and the forthcoming Rumble documentary film.

June 5, 7:00 PM Friday Night Live, Indigenous Now Royal Ontario Museum, 100 Queen’s Park Join ANDPVA at ROM for Indigenous NOW, a celebration of contemporary Canadian Indigenous art. Tickets avaiable at www.rom.on.ca

June 5, 2:00 pm The Métis Fiddler with Nicholas Delbaere-Sawchuk Annette Street Library, 145 Annette Street Celebrate National Aboriginal History Month with an interactive Métis fiddler performance with Nicholas Delbaere-Sawchuk. Drop in, no registration. Groups, call 416-393-7692 to inquire about space

June 6, 2:00 pm Singing and Dancing First Nations Culture Brentwood Library. 36 Brentwood Road North Singing and dancing is a very important part of First Nations culture which celebrates the connection with Mother Earth. While a form of merriment, it is also a form of prayer, to give thanks to ancestors and the Creator. Join us in celebrating Canadian Aboriginal culture with a discussion and performance of song, dance and drum. Drop-in. For all ages.

June 6, 1:00 pm Native Canadian Centre First Story Bus Tour - Registration is full Spadina Road Library, 10 Spadina Road Join us for a three hour bus tour of pre-contact and post-contact landmarks that highlight the Indigenous presence in Toronto. The tour will begin at the Spadina Road branch and take you through important landmarks throughout the city, including Baby Point, Etienne Brule Park and the St. Lawrence Market area. Space is limited. To register, call 416-393-7666.

June 8, 1:30 pm Spotlight on films from Turtle Island: People of the Ice Mount Dennis Library auditorium. 1123 Weston Road. 416-394-1008 People of the Ice by Carlos Ferrand & Jean Lemire (2003, 52 min). For over 4 000 years, the Inuit have lived in harmony with their Arctic environment. In this frozen landscape, survival depends on a deep understanding of the natural world. Today, global warming threatens the very nature of their habitat. As the ice disappears, so does the Inuit culture it is intimately connected to. Ever-changing temperatures have even made predicting the Arctic climate difficult. Will this extraordinarily resilient people be able to adjust to such dramatic change?

June 9, 2:00 pm Exploring Inuit Culture Amesbury Park Library, 1565 Lawrence Avenue West The Museum of Inuit Art presents a fun, hand-on program that explores both traditional and modern Inuit culture. Participants will also make their own iggaaks (snow goggles) to take home!

June 10, 1:00 pm Spotlight on Films from Turtle Island: Martha of the North Barbara Frum Library, 20 Covington Road Martha of the North directed by Marquise Lepage (2008, 83 min.) In the mid-1950s, lured by false promises of a better life, Inuit families were displaced by the Canadian government and left to their own devices in the Far North. In this icy desert realm, Martha Flaherty and her family lived through on of Canadian history?s most sombre and little-known episodes.

June 10, 1:30 pm Stories from an Ojibway Storyteller Danforth/Coxwell Library program room. 1675 Danforth Avenue Aaron Bell, Ojibway Storyteller, shares the magic of spoken word, drama, and humour. Using the gift of imagination, enjoy stories from the First Nations people of Southern Ontario. Groups or classes, please RSVP, 416-393-7783

June 10, 7:00 pm Conversations with a Dead Man: The Legacy of Duncan Campbell Scott Bloor/Gladstone Library. 1101 Bloor Street West In this talk, Montreal poet and nonfiction writer Mark Abley explores the paradox of Duncan Campbell Scott and explains his relevance for Canadians today. Scott was one of the major Canadian poets of the early 20th century, a man whose literary reputation was built partly on his poems about Aboriginal people. Yet he was also Deputy Minister of Indian Affairs, an architect of the residential school system, and a fervent believer in assimilation. Abley's widely acclaimed 2013 book "Conversations with a Dead Man" is an interrogation of Scott's ghost -- a work of creative non-fiction that asks why Scott behaved as he did, and questions how we can escape his legacy.

June 11, 4:00 pm Aboriginal History Month Craft: Make a Charm Pouch Jones Library. 118 Jones Avenue In honour of National Aboriginal History Month make a cool charm pouch to hold all your trinkets.

June 11, 6:30 pm Spotlight on Films from Turtle Island: How The Fiddle Flows Kennedy/Eglinton Multipurpose room. 2380 Eglinton Avenue East How the Fiddle Works directed by Gregory Coyes (2002, 48 min). From the Gaspé Peninsula, north to Hudson Bay and to the Prairies, "How the Fiddle Flows" reveals how a distinctive Metis identity and culture were shaped over time. Featuring soaring performances by some of Canada's best known fiddlers and step dancers and narrated by award-winning actress Tantoo Cardinal.

June 13, 11:00 am Puppet Show: Council of the Animals Dufferin/St.Clair Library, 1625 Dufferin Street Rabbit and Bear Paws are heroes created to share humorous adventures based on Traditional Teachings. Carrying on the tradition allows youth to explore their roots and learn the wisdom of the Aboriginal community. Tickets will be available 30 minutes before the program begins -- space is limited. Call 416-396-3865 for more information.

June 13, 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm Native Canadian Centre First Story Bus Tour- Registration is full Spadina Road Library, 10 Spadina Road Join us for a three hour bus tour of pre-contact and post-contact landmarks that highlight the Indigenous presence in Toronto. The tour will begin at the Spadina Road branch and take you through important landmarks throughout the city, including Baby Point, Etienne Brule Park and the St. Lawrence Market area. Space is limited. To register, call 416-393-7666.

June 13, 2:00 pm Spotlight on Films from Turtle Island: The Wings of Johnny May St. James Town, 495 Sherbourne Street The Wings of Johnny May directed by Marc Fafard (2013, 83 min.) Indigenous life through the indigenous lens. National Film Board of Canada presents films by First Nations filmmakers and writers. This feature documentary shines a spotlight on Johnny May, the first inuit bush pilot in Nunavik- and a legend among his people. During the 34,000 hours of flight time he’s logged. May has lived through extraordinary adventures and has had a unique view of the transformation of the Arctic from his perch in the sky. He has watched as the Inuit went from nomadic life to a sedentary existence, and as climate change has melted the permafrost. But one thing remains constant: May?s deep love for his wife Louisa. Since his earliest days in the air, his plane has sported the same Inuktitut message for her: ?Pengo Pally,? which means ?I miss you.?

June 13, 3:00 pm Puppet Show: Council of the Animals Thorncliffe Library, 48 Thorncliffe Park Drive Rabbit and Bear Paws are heroes created to share humorous adventures based on Traditional Teachings. Carrying on the tradition allows youth to explore their roots and learn the wisdom of the Aboriginal community. Tickets will be available 30 minutes before the program begins -- space is limited. Call 416-396-3865 for more information.

June 13, 3:30 PM Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance introduced by Jesse Wente Tiff Bell Lightbox 350 King St West A milestone of Canadian cinema, Alanis Obomsawin's controversial, award-winning documentary captures the 1990 Oka standoff between Mohawk activists and the Canadian army from behind the Mohawk lines. Tickets available at tiff.net. Presented by TIFF

June 15, 1:30 pm Exploring Inuit Culture Morningside Library, 4729 Lawrence Avenue East The Museum of Inuit Art presents a fun, hands-on program that explores both traditional and modern Inuit culture. Participants will also make their own iggaaks (snow goggles) to take home!

June 16, 11:00 am Aboriginal Arts and Crafts Fair Nathan Phillips Square - 100 Queen Street West Toronto, ON Featuring Aboriginal arts and crafts, information on urban Aboriginal organizations, and traditional drummers and dancers. For more information call Mae Maracle at (416)392-5583.

June 17, 6:00 pm Spotlight on Films from Turtle Island: Trick or Treaty? Albion Library Auditorium, 1515 Albion Road Trick or Treaty? (PG, 2014, 85 min.) A special Q&A follows with acclaimed filmmaker and director, Alanis Obomsawin. This documentary follows the journey of Indigenous leaders in their quest for justice as they seek to establish dialogue with the Canadian government. By tracing the history of their ancestors since the signing of Treaty No. 9, they want to raise people's awareness about the issues that concern them: respect for and protection of their lands and their natural resources, and the right to hunt and fish so that their society can prosper. In recent years, an awareness-raising movement has been surfacing, such as the Idle No More movement. Indigenous youth are mobilizing in increasing numbers to put an end to inertia. This film gives those who refuse to surrender a chance to speak out.

June 18 - 20 Indigenous Arts Festival Fort York, 250 Fort York Blvd Phone number: 311 or 416-392-2489 The Indigenous Arts Festival @ Fort York celebrates traditional and contemporary music, dance, theatre, storytelling, spoken word, visual arts, crafts, and food created by indigenous artists. Energizing the grounds and buildings of Fort York National Historic Site in downtown Toronto with powerful ancient traditions and compelling contemporary creations.

June 18, 2:00 pm Spoken Word Poetry with Taqralik Partridge Beaches Library program room. 2161 Queen Street East Taqralik will perform spoken word poetry and share a short film featuring one of her stories. The audience will be invited to participate in an interactive poetry activity.

June 18, 6:00 pm Spotlight on Films from Turtle Island: Trick or Treaty? Palmerston Library, 560 Palmerston Avenue Trick or Treaty? (PG, 2014, 85 min.) A special Q&A follows with acclaimed filmmaker and director, Alanis Obomsawin. This documentary follows the journey of Indigenous leaders in their quest for justice as they seek to establish dialogue with the Canadian government. By tracing the history of their ancestors since the signing of Treaty No. 9, they want to raise people's awareness about the issues that concern them: respect for and protection of their lands and their natural resources, and the right to hunt and fish so that their society can prosper. In recent years, an awareness-raising movement has been surfacing, such as the Idle No More movement. Indigenous youth are mobilizing in increasing numbers to put an end to inertia. This film gives those who refuse to surrender a chance to speak out. Also screening, short film "How to Build an Igloo" (1949, 11 min)

June 18, 6:30 pm Spotlight on Films from Turtle Island: Crazywater Kennedy/Eglinton Library, 2380 Eglinton Avenue West Crazy Water directed by Dennis Allen (2013, 56 min). This feature documentary, directed by Inuvialuit filmmaker Dennis Allen, is an emotional, honest, and revealing exploration of substance abuse among First Nations people in Canada. We meet Alex, Stephen, Paula and Desirae, who courageously share their experiences. Alex's struggles with alcoholism were an attempt to forget the abuse he suffered at a residential school. Stephen was trying to bury a childhood trauma. For Paula and Desirae, two mothers with a history of addiction, family becomes the key to breaking the cycle of abuse. Like his subjects, the director himself is a recovering alcoholic. Ultimately, all the survivors in this film maintain a deep and devoted commitment to their traditional Aboriginal cultures as a means to achieving long-term sobriety

June 18, 7:00 pm Stories and Poems from Nunavik Toronto Reference Library, 789 Yonge Street Inuit poet, storyteller and throat singer Taqralik Partridge brings to life poems and tales from Canada’s north in her distinctive and unique style.

June 18, 7:00 pm Native Humour Runnymede Library, 2178 Bloor Street West, Program room Award-winning playwright, author, columnist, filmmaker and lecturer Drew Hayden Taylor (Motorcycles and Sweetgrass) shares jokes, laughs, and chuckles in this lecture on native humour.

June 18th, 7:30 pm Welcome to Kanata PIX Film Gallery – 1411 Dufferin, Unit C 416-585-2333 The program is curated by award-winning filmmaker and Director of the National Indigenous Arts Coalition, Ariel Smith and features 12 dazzling short films. Presented by ImagineNATIVE and Toronto Animated Image Society.

June 19 Grand Entry 12:00 PM First Nations School Pow Wow 935 Dundas St East 416-396-6210

June 19, 6:00 pm Spotlight on Films from Turtle Island: Inuuvunga: I am Inuk, I am Alive Parkdale Library, 1303 Queen Street West Inuuvunga: I am Inuk, I am Alive (2004, 58 min). It's the final year of high school for eight teens at Innalik school in this remote town in northern Quebec. Through an initiative of the National Film Board, these eight students have been selected to document this pivotal year of their lives. To teach them some basics, the NFB has dispatched filmmakers Daniel Cross and Mila Aung-Thwin. The result of their collaboration is Inuuvunga, a vibrant and utterly contemporary view of life in Canada's North. Also screening, short film "How to Build an Igloo" (1949, 11 min)

June 20, 1:00 pm We Keep The Stories: Writer in Residence Concluding Celebration North York Central Library, 5120 Yonge Street Join us for the concluding celebration of Cherie Dimaline's residency and National Aboriginal Day. Join drummers, dancers, elders, and storytellers as they share stories, songs and dances and bid farewell to Toronto Public Library’s first Aboriginal writer in residence. Please call 416 395 5639 to register for this FREE program.

June 21, 5:30 am Sunrise Ceremony at City Hall Toronto City Hall - 100 Queen St W, Toronto, ON 416 392-5583

June 21, Grand Entry 12:00 pm Na-me-res Annual Traditional Pow Wow 250 Fort York Boulevard The Grand Entry starts at 12:00 noon, festivities continue through the day until 6:00 p.m. Our activities include: Traditional Drummers, Traditional Dancers, Variety of Native Traditional Crafts on display, Red Pepper Spectacle (children’s crafts corner), Foods Sales and Silent Auction, Traditional Feast and Giveaway. (416) 651-6750

June 21, 2:00 pm We Keep The Stories Toronto Reference Library, 790 Yonge Street Take part in a traditional round dance led by the Smoke Trail Singers and several members of the powwow community in full regalia. With library Aboriginal writer in residence Cherie Dimaline

June 21, 3:00PM The Eh List Presents Lee Maracle and Marilyn Dumont Toronto Reference Library, 790 Yonge Street Metis poet Marilyn Dumont, author of A Really Good Brown Girl and acclaimed novelist Lee Maracle, author of Celia's Song, explore the boundaries that society imposes on the self and the loss of tradition that continues to plague First Nations communities.

June 21, 4:00 pm No More Silence Toronto Reference Library, 790 Yonge Street Over the last 30 years, more than 1,200 indigenous women have been reported missing or found murdered. Daughters. Sisters. Mothers. Friends. We can be silent no more . The CBC's Michael Enright hosts a panel on Canada's murdered and missing Aboriginal women. With Deborah Richardson (Deputy Minister of Aboriginal Affairs), Audrey Huntley (Aboriginal Legal Services of Toronto) and Krysta Williams (Native Sexual Health Network).

June 22, 6:00 pm Spotlight on Films from Turtle Island: People of the Ice Papa/Danforth Library 701 Pape Avenue People of the Ice by Carlos Ferrand & Jean Lemire (2003, 52 min) For over 4 000 years, the Inuit have lived in harmony with their Arctic environment. In this frozen landscape, survival depends on a deep understanding of the natural world. Today, global warming threatens the very nature of their habitat. As the ice disappears, so does the Inuit culture it is intimately connected to. Ever-changing temperatures have even made predicting the Arctic climate difficult. Will this extraordinarily resilient people be able to adjust to such dramatic change?

June 23, 7:00 pm The Medicine Wheel Spadina Road Library, 10 Spadina Road How do traditional healings and western medicine influence First Nations communities today? Bob Goulais, member of the Three Fires Midewiwin Lodge, a traditional society of the Anishinabe (Ojibway, Odawa and Pottawatami) discusses the importance of the medicine wheel to Aboriginal culture, its significance in the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual realities, and its representation in the interconnectivity of the natural world.

June 24, 12:00 pm Aboriginal History Month Celebration Yonge-Dundas Square. 1 Dundas Street East Join the Native Canadian Centre of Toronto for our 6th Annual Aboriginal History Month Celebration at Yonge & Dundas Square on Wednesday June 24th, 2015!

This year we have an exciting line-up of entertainers, including Digging Roots headlining! As well as, all day Kid's Arts & Crafts Tent, craft vendors exhibiting and selling their wares and Aboriginal agencies showcasing what they are doing in the community.

12:00pm - MC Bob Goulais 12:30pm - Powwow Dance Performance: A chance for all dancers to come up and show their moves! 1:15pm - Powwow Bootcamp: The audience will learn skills in Indigenous dance forms of Powwow and Onkehon:we (Iroquois) social dances. 2:30 - ENAGB Youth Talent Show: 3:25 - First Nations Communities Read Award Presentation 3:35 - First Nations School Dance Performance 3:45 - Fashion Show by NativeTalent.net 5:00 - Blackstone 6:00 - Métis Fiddler Quartet 7:00 - Digging Roots

June 24, Grand Entry 1:00 pm Southeast Scarborough Pow Wow Eastview Public School - 20 Waldock Street, Scarborough, ON (416) 396-6210 Sunrise ceremony at 6:00 am Grand Entry at 1:00 pm

June 25, 7:00 pm Introduction to Aboriginal Music North York Central Library, 5120 Yonge Street Find out more than you ever knew possible about the scope of Native music. Come hear and see the eclectic sights and sounds of the music of the First Nations. Speaker: Brian Wright-McLeod, Native music journalist, radio host, music producer. Please call 416-395-5639 to register for this FREE program.

June 30, 2:00 pm 6:30 pm Spotlight on Films from Turtle Island: Vanishing Point Annette Street Library, 145 Annette Street, Toronto, ON Film screening. Vanishing Point by Stephen A. Smith and Julia Szucs 2012, 82 min. This feature documentary tells the story of 2 Inuit communities of the circumpolar north—one on Canada’s Baffin Island, the other in Northwest Greenland—that are linked by a migration led by an intrepid shaman. Navarana, an Inughuit elder and descendant of the shaman, draws inspiration and hope from the ties that still bind the 2 communities to face the consequences of rapid social and environmental change. Presented by the Toronto Public Library

Spotlight on Films from Turtle Island at Bloor/Gladstone Library Bloor/Gladstone Library 1101 Bloor Street West, Toronto, ON Join us every Friday evening in June for a screening of the following films: June 5, 6:00 pm - "Reel Injun"(PG), 2009, 86 mins. June 12, 6:00 pm - "The Lesser Blessed" (14A), 2013, 86 mins. June 19, 6:00 pm- "Trick or Treaty" (PG), 2014, 85 mins. (Presented by NFB. Q+A with filmmaker and director Alanis Obomsawin to follow.) June 26, 6:00 pm - "Club Native" (Not Rated), 2008, 78 mins

Spotlight on Films from Turtle Island at Annette Library June 2, 6:30 pm - “Trick or Treaty” 2014, 85 mins June 3, 2:00 pm - “Trick or Treaty” 2014, 85 mins June 10, 2:00 pm - “We Were Children” 2012, 82 mins June 16, 6:30 pm - “The People of Kattawapiskak River” 2013, 50mins June 17, 2:00 pm - “The People of Kattawapiskak River” 2013, 50mins June 23, 6:30 pm - “People of the ice” 2003, 52 mins. June 24, 2:00 pm - “People of the ice” 2003, 52 mins. June 30, 2:00 pm and 6:30 pm - “Vanishing Point” 2012, 82 min