Today as in yesteryear, the Aboriginal peoples who are guardians of the sacred land extend a hand in welcome to newcomers who come from the world over. The project, Aki, welcoming land is one sign of peoples coming closer, in full equality and a spirit of celebration and sharing.

BUT FIRST, A BIT OF HISTORY...

It was still the time of myth, long after the Sky woman was carried on the turtle's back as she fell. From the depths of the great waters, the muskrat pulled up a bit of the earth to welcome her. Human sons and daughters of the sky could then set foot on habitable space. Then the carapace broke up into different pieces drifting off in the four directions. From then on humans were to live on separate continents.

In its current diversity, Montreal has once again become a microcosm expressing the primordial unity of the human species. On its space surrounded by water, it takes us back to ancient times and we children of the sky sit around the same fire.

As summer is born, come celebrate the reunion around the ceremonial drum. Aki, the Promised Land, is a welcoming place for all humankind. People representing brothers and sisters from the four horizons will be clad in the traditional robe and bedecked with signs that they belong to this land, the central space of the Great Turtle's carapace.

The drum beats out the measure of a joyful celebration. The aboriginal artists busy themselves with the bodies offered up to their brushstrokes. Symbolic scarifications and the revelation of colours express our joy of living in fellowship and harmony. We of the four directions hereby recognise our common membership in the vertical axis extending from sky to earth. We extend our arms to form the Circle of Life.

THE PARTICIPANTS

On the white stage, for the North, Ms Michèle Asselin, president of the Fédération des femmes du Québec.

At the East, the yellow stage welcomes Kalsang Dolma, principal character in the film Ce qu'il reste de nous and a Diaspora Tibetan.

Red, at the south, is the domain of Ivan Ignacio, an Aymara Aboriginal from the Andes Cordillera and an activist who has taken part in the struggle for the basic rights of Native people.

Finally, at the West, on the black stage, the high point of accomplishments and recognition, Mr Dan Phillips, who founded la Ligue des Noirs du Québec.

Their long ceremonial robes will be ablaze with the colours of peace and friendship.

Mi'kmag storyteller Bob Bourdon (Robert Seven Crows) is the soul and guide to Aki. He opens the pathways and lights the fires.

With Northern Cree, group of drums and singers whose chants will punctuate Aki, Welcoming Land.

LOCO LOCASS
Words to break down walls. Poetry takes on the world, takes on guises, sheds blood and strikes the soul head-on with its sharp blade. No more crummy imitations ­ on stage and on Amour oral, words get a free rein and Loco Locass has not finished exploring from the gullies to the peaks. Top level rap and hiphop with music and rhymes that are weapons against complacency, chic laziness and institutionalised wimpiness. "Writing means threading chaos through the needle's eye". Batlam.

DAYBI
Daybi, a Plains Cree and a rapper is a founding member of Slangblossom. He was born in Winnipeg and lives in Montreal, where he made his first clips. He can conjure up many kinds of storms, as a graffiti artist, guitarist, drummer and video artist. He forgets to mention that he is a poet, but his words and rhythms hit their target. Hip-hop to move the masses, hard but sensitive rap well grounded in the reality of First Nations youth.

SAMIEN
Samien is an Anishinabe from Pikogan in Abitibi who has always written rap lyrics. When he made his first clip, Courage, as part of the Wapikoni mobile project, a travelling audiovisual training unit, his maturity and the quality of his rap impressed everyone. Two of his clips were screened at the Festival du nouveau cinéma de Montréal during a forum on the Wapikoni mobile. There he met André Dudemaine from Land InSights who immediately put Samien in touch with Loca Locass. Then came the idea of a rap in the Anishinabe language.

CIVIC CEREMONY

All peoples of the earth revere the longest day of the year. More than ever before, different peoples need to recognise the links uniting them. The Summer Solstice is an occasion to celebrate the commitment to peace that we hold dear, in a gesture of alliance.

The City of Montreal and Land InSights will welcome Aboriginal leaders and representatives of the provincial and federal governments in a gesture of bridge building and recognition. We hope the climate of friendship and sharing among the participants in this solemn ceremony will extend its influence to the entire population in a heartfelt homage to good relations among peoples.

Drums and chants will accompany the welcoming speeches. Hearts in friendship will surely be moved!

BOOK LAUNCH : Sur les traces des Amérindiens

At Chalet du Belvédère, with Jeannine Laurent and Jacques St-Pierre

www.publicationsduquebec.gouv.qc.ca

JUNE 21: GET ON THE BUS!

L'autre Montréal and Land InSights join forces to develop a city tour on the First Nations in Quebec's metropolis, from their historic role to the dynamic part they play in modern life. To mark this new partnership, come along on an afternoon guided tour by bus on the path of "The Great Peace of 1701". Relations between Aboriginals and Europeans have marked our history. From the site of Hochelaga to the First Peoples' Festival, the visit will bridge the gap between memory and our present.

The guided tour leaves Émilie-Gamelin Park at 6 p.m., corner Berri and Ste-Catherine near the metro station. It is free of charge but reservations are mandatory; phone (514) 521-7802. The tour lasts 3 hours.

FIRST PEOPLES' FESTIVAL 2005 HONOURS ITS PRIZE WINNERS

Daniel Paul Bork will host this awards ceremony.

THE DR BERNARD CHAGNAN ASSINIWI AWARD - In honour of Bernard Assiniwi, whose body of work continues to illuminate our spirits and hearts, this prize will be a recognition of the exceptional accomplishment of a First Nations personality. Land InSights wishes to take this opportunity to underline the tireless work of men and women who have devoted their lives to preserving their original culture and making the essential gift of pride in their origins.

ABORIGINAL FILMS AND VIDEOS Prizes that are symbols of recognition and gratefulness to First Nations filmmakers and video artists for their commitment and their creativity.

COMMUNITIES CATEGORY The Rigoberta Menchu prize is awarded to engaged and engaging works. Whether these are films made as urgent responses, hard-hitting documentaires, patient inventories of dashed hopes or, better still, of the resistance small communities faced with disappearance can muster, all can find room to have their say at First Peoples' Festival.

The Rigoberta Menchu Tum Foundation and its representative in Montreal, Ms Lesvia Vela, have joined forces with First Peoples' Festival for the fifth year to emphasise the quality of these works of struggles and hopes.

CREATIONS CATEGORY The TEUEIKAN prize, named for the sacred drum of the Algonquian peoples, pays hommage to the creativity of Aboriginal filmmakers and video artists. Fiction is a high road for the expression of reality. The emergence of these creators and the quality of their work can only occure if their often rocky path does earn them some measure of recognition.

An enviable grand prize: a bronze based on a sculpture by Mattuisi Iyaituk honours excellence.

DOCUMENTARY CATEGORIE The prize from Séquences magazine, for the third year in a row, will be awarded to the best documentary.

AT CENTRE COMMUNAUTAIRE DE LOISIR DE LA CÔTE-DESNEIGES > JUNE 21, FROM 6 TO 8:30 P.M.
5347, Côte-de-Neiges Road

On June 21, from 6 to 8:30 p.m., the public is invited to a supper and gettogether around the topic "World and Quebec History: the First Nations". A presentation about First Nations in Quebec will be followed by a discussion period on the place of Aboriginal peoples elsewhere in the world. Performers will be on hand for the evening.

Information or registration: 733-1478, extension 224.

AT MCCORD MUSEUM > FROM MAY 20, 2005
690, Sherbrooke Street, West

Cross Currents - 500 Generations of Aboriginal Fishing in Atlantic Canada For thousands of years, Aboriginal peoples have fished the rich waters of Atlantic Canada. Archeological findings and oral histories connect us to this evolving story, from 11,000 years ago to today.

Information :398-7100 or info@mccord.mcgill.ca