dan kellar
Kitchener, ON – Ahead of the Sunrise Ceremony and celebration for the 5 year anniversary of Land Back Camp on June 21st, CKMS News spoke with Bangishimo, an organizer of the event and an Indigenous advocate in the region. June 21st is also National Indigenous People’s Day and the summer solstice.
Bangishimo told CKMS News that the Sunrise ceremony will run from 7am to around 9am in the courtyard at the Willow River Centre in downtown Kitchener. For the first time the ceremony is being held in partnership with the multicultural festival which runs over the weekend in Willow River Park.
The Sunrise ceremony will feature a ceremonial fire, drumming and song, and words from youth activist Skye Smoke, and advocate, educator, and Residential School Survivor Lila Bruyere.
Bangishimo, a coordinator at the Willow River Centre also discusses the impact that “Land Back Camp” has had locally in the five years following land reclamation action.