Regina residents are invited to participate in virtual events celebrating National Indigenous Peoples Day Monday.

Event Co-Host Fawn Redwood says the day serves as a chance for people to celebrate Indigenous history and culture.

“It’s definitely an opportunity to celebrate and honour the diverse cultures of our First Nations, Inuit, and Métis people, and all their contributions in Canada like the Treaties with colonization, everything like that,” said Redwood. “Without that, we wouldn’t have what we have today as our home Canada.”

Redwood says due to recent events it’s important to honour the past while looking ahead to the future, adding they want to look at both the positives and the negatives.

“It’s definitely a horrible history and we can’t forget that, we do have to recognize that in order to move on and progress, and there’s a lot of work that needs to be done for sure,” said Redwood. “What we really wanted to focus on was our relationship with a positive nature, our celebration of food as well. How are connection is with our oral history.”

Redwood says the event has grown substantially since its debut nine years ago, and she only anticipates it growing further.

She says one of the best ways to move towards reconciliation is for people to educate themselves, and National Indigenous Peoples Day is the perfect opportunity to that.

“Learning your environment, going out and learning what Nations are around you, what it means to be an ally of Indigenous people, learning some protocol, these are the things that are around you in your environment already,” said Redwood. “Just starting to immerse yourself in what is really around you in your local community, is a great step towards a better relationship with Indigenous people right here in Saskatchewan.”

The virtual festivities include performances from drummers, Métis jiggers, and videos on how to make Bannock.

Everything is available on Regina National Indigenous Peoples Day Facebook page.