2024 Indigenous Day Celebration - Summer Solstice Festivals

INDIGENOUS DAY CELEBRATION

Friday, June 21st

Join us for a wonderful celebration of National Indigenous Peoples Day at Mādahòkì Farm! It’s a day packed with Indigenous culture and free family fun that you won’t want to miss. Get ready to meet the magnificent Ojibwe Spirit Horses, engage in interactive games, and watch live music and performances.

Explore our vibrant marketplace featuring over 40 Indigenous artisans, crafters, and food vendors offering a dazzling array of products. From beautiful artwork to delicious treats, there’s something to delight every visitor! And don’t forget to mark your calendar for the exciting Pow Wow starting on the 21st, featuring an electrifying performance by DJ Shub.

Get to the festivities with complimentary shuttles departing from Algonquin College between 12 PM and 11 PM. Join us for a day filled with joy, culture, and community spirit!

There is NO ONSITE PARKING at the festival. Street parking on West Hunt Club Road is not permitted.

POW WOW COMMITTEE SPECIALS & GLOW IN THE DARK POW WOW ft DJ SHUB | 6PM - 10PM

Presented by:

Cap off the evening of National Indigenous Peoples’ Day as our competition pow wow kicks off with a bang!

Starting at 6:00 PM, get ready for the committee specials featuring our host drum for 2024 – Northern Cree! Northern Cree Singers are one of the most respected and popular pow wow drum groups in North America. In 2023, they were a finalist in the SSIMA Music Awards with one of their members Joel Wood winning the title for Pow Wow album of the year. They have been nominated for six Grammy awards and two Juno awards. Northern Cree will be live all weekend starting with the NIPD celebrations in the Pow Wow grounds.

Then, at 9:00 PM, join DJ Shub and Theland Kicknosoway in the Pow Wow circle for a one of a kind dance experience with a glow in the dark pow wow. Glow in the dark hoop and fancy dancers will invite the audience to join the dance circle as the sun sets to finish with a fun glow in the dark pow wow on the longest day of the year.

DJ Shub is a Mohawk DJ and music producer from the Six Nations of the Grand River. He was one of the founding members of A Tribe Called Red and has had incredible success as a solo artist including a Juno award and the 2022 SSIMA award for Live Music Performance of the Year – which means you won’t want to miss this live show.

Theland Kicknosway is an Indigenous youth who uses his voice to spread his message and showcase Indigenous culture. He is wolf clan from the Potawatomi and Cree Nation and is a member of Walpole Island, Bkejwanong Territory. Theland has been a fixture in the Indigenous community as a traditional singer, drummer, dancer & social media influencer. In 2018, Theland became the youngest Indspire Laureate named for Culture, Heritage and Spirituality. His path-breaking efforts have also been mentioned in Teen Vogue, Entertainment Tonight and Complex. As he nears his 18th year in the Physical World, Theland continues to shine. Theland will join the Glow in the Dark Pow Wow with his LED hoops.

SSIMAs On Tour Artists presented by:

LONGTABLE FEAST BY CHEF TAWNYA BRANT | 1PM & 6PM

Presented by:

You are invited to join us for an amazing Indigenous dining experience at Chef Tawnya Brant’s Long table feast. Chef Tawnya Brant of Six Nations of the Grand River Territory competed on Season 10 of Top Chef Canada. Two sessions are available, lunch at 1 PM and dinner at 6 PM.

The featured meal will include:

Woodlands salad with blueberry sweetgrass vinaigrette
Bluecorn Scone with forged greens compound butter
Juniper & ramp braised bison with gravy, wild garlic two row Potato pave & sauteed seasoned asparagus & green beans
Strawberry shortcake with a vanilla chantilly and strawberry gastric
Served with Zibbins Nibi cedar infused waters, fresh strawberry juice, coffee & tea

Featuring a Live Performance by Logan Staats

Mohawk folk and soul musician Logan Staats began as a diamond in the rough on the streets of Brantford, Ontario. He played the local circuit for years before his 2015 debut release ‘Goodbye Goldia’, an unvarnished yet hard hitting folk album. He went on to win CTV’s‘The Launch’ in 2018, gaining commercialsuccess and touring across North America and Europe. But travelling the world can really open your eyes to what’s going on right at home, and the fight for indigenoussovereignty has become a focal point for Staatsin recent years. It all intermingles with the music; the passion, the rage, the love, and most of all the healing. He’s making roadtrippin’ music for those travelling ‘the red road’; a path towards reconnecting and relearning indigenous ways.

LIVE MUSIC & PERFORMANCES | 1PM - 6PM

The Celebration Stage is the place to be for live music, cultural showcases and Indigenous theatre. On National Indigenous Peoples Day we have a full line up to celebrate the day.

Join us for:

A traditional welcome to Algonquin Territory by an Elder at 1:00 PM
World Champion Hoop Dancer Scott Sinquah at 1:30 PM and 4:00 PM
Sky Woman Falls to Earth play and dance by Indigenous Experiences at 2:00 PM and 4:30 PM
Performer David Finkle at 2:30 PM
Sunsdrum Inuit Throat Singers at 3:00 PM and 5:00 PM
Métis dancer Brad Lafortune at 3:30 PM and 5:30 PM

ALGONQUIN LANGUAGE BINGO WITH SAMANTHA TENASCO | 1PM & 6PM

FREE (DROP IN)

A fun game for all ages where participants follow along with the host, learning Algonquin language for all the letters and numbers to call out BINGO! One hour of fun Bingo games with many winners with choice of prizes.

+ MORE ONGOING INTERACTIVE STATIONS & DEMONSTRATIONS | 12PM - 6PM

Métis Games

Hatchet throwing and archery

Inuit Games

Join Stranger to explore some of the more popular Inuit Games

Ojibwe Spirit Horses

Meet some of Canada’s only Indigenous horses. This rare and endangered breed, the Ojibwe Spirit horses, almost went extinct in the 1970s, with only 4 remaining. This is your chance to catch a glimpse of our newest foal, Asemaa!

Ojibwe Spirit Horse Equine Assisted Learning

Join Rhonda Snow for an interactive EAL experience with the Ojibwe spirit ponies. Rhonda is not only a certified EAL facilitator, but a knowledge keeper and renowned artist bringing the stories of this rare and endangered breed of pony to life. During this experience, you will learn about the powerful stallion “Tony the Rainy Lake Pony” who lived on the island and in the bush for 40 plus years. Come and learn what it was like for these ponies long ago and share a story of resilience as you travel the “trail” together with your pony and imagine what it felt like to fight off wolves and listen to the loons and learn when all things wild are connected.

Must pre-register. Minimum age is 6 and waivers required to handle horses.

1 hour experience:
2 PM and 5 PM

$20 per person. Max 15 per session.

Wigwam Building with Chuck Commanda

One of 12 grandchildren of Algonquin master canoe builders, William and Mary Commanda, Chuck remembers doing this with his Grandparents, harvesting the bark and building in their yard in Kitigan Zibi. Fast forward 40 plus years and Chuck has built more than 50 canoes along with birch bark baskets and wigwams. All with a little encouragement from his Grandfather William who was the carrier of the sacred wampum belts for Anishnaabe people and often talked about how building with birch bark was part of fulfilling this sacred prophecy, keeping this ancient art alive for future generations.

Quillwork Demonstration with Christine Toulouse

Discover the artistic world of Christine Toulouse, an emerging Anishinaabe artist from Sagamok Anishnawbek First Nation. Specializing in quillwork, an intricate form of embroidery utilizing dyed or natural-colored porcupine quills woven into birch bark. Discover her works symbolizing the harmonious connection between the land, seasons, and memory and all of the natural materials that Christine meticulously harvests.