Calgary celebrates National Indigenous History Month with a market

This month is National Indigenous History Month in recognition of Indigenous history and culture — a time when Canadians are encouraged to learn and become more aware of the cultures around them and the importance of immersing in Indigenous history.

In partnership with Southcentre Mall, the Indigenous Awareness Week Artisan Market is celebrating Indigenous culture over two days while featuring 10 different vendors. It will start with an opening ceremony.

More than just a market

With the market being an opportunity to promote understanding and awareness of Indigenous cultures, event organizer and vendor Melrene Saloy-EagleSpeaker hopes the community will experience and enjoy the creativity of the events.

“We’re just hoping that people come out and want to learn and advocate and immerse themselves in the celebration of Indigenous people and into the people’s mind, being that it is an important time for us during the solstice,” Saloy-EagleSpeaker says.

“And being that [National Indigenous History Month] is a national holiday now, people are more aware. We just really want people to come to celebrate and enjoy our culture as much as we do.”

A learning experience for everyone

Calgarians will be able to access a variety of different resources at the event, with guests being able to ask questions and learn more about Indigenous culture at a dedicated resource centre.

“Going through this year after the pandemic and many of the other things that have happened since the 215 Indigenous children that were found, there’s just so much empathy and people that are curious and aware,” Saloy-EagleSpeaker says.

“[They] want to know how they can help celebrate Indigenous people and culture, how to educate themselves, and how they can make some change and be a part of reconciliation.”

With the events taking place on June 23 and 24, Saloy-EagleSpeaker hopes to see the community come out to support the artists and learn more about the Indigenous culture.