If knowledge is power, there will be some powerful moments at the Indigenous Life Festival later this month.
The festival takes place at Blue Mountain Village and is the only one of its kind in Canada. Lisa Farano is the producer and creative director for the festival, and was involved for the festival’s inaugural year in 2017 as a celebration for Canada’s 150th birthday. Farano is working with the M’Wikwedong Native Cultural Resource Centre to put on the festival.
“This is year two, which is exciting because it means [Blue Mountain Village] sees value in this festival,” said Farano. “They get that we – as a collective – know very little about indigenous life.”
The event is an “educational celebration of Indigenous cultures and history,” according to the festival website. The festival includes performances by dancers, cooking demonstrations by Zach Keeshig, drumming circles, role-play activities, a creation station, and live music by Indigenous artists.
“It’s interactive, the performers want you to know why they do that dance and where they are from,” said Farano. “That’s the great part of having so many indigenous people involved; the non-indigenous people can learn directly from them.”
The festival will also mark the launch of the Circles for Reconciliation project. The first meeting will take place at the festival, and from there, groups of 10 people - five indigenous and five non-indigenous - will commit to meet 10 times to hear each others’ perspectives and stories.
“It’s about asking questions and having community in a safe environment,” said Farano. “There’s no shame in not knowing or knowing something wrong. It’s about how we do this together moving forward. It’s not just about the information but about what we do with it.”
The festival will reach past The Blue Mountains and Collingwood and to Cape Croker where Saugeen First Nations will have a sunrise ceremony to start the sacred run - a relay run from Cape Croker to Blue Mountain Village. Participation is open and there are some runners from Collingwood participating. To take part in the run, email Lisa Farano here.
The festival this year also includes a film festival with two films from the Indigenous 150+ Film Series produced by Good Influence Films.
Farano said she believes the festival will grow and continue into the future, and sees a shift locally to understand more about Indigenous heritage and pay tribute to it.
“I think this town wants to know what we can do to be better community members and Canadians,” said Farano.
She hopes this festival will help foster understanding between Indigenous and non-indigenous people.
“If everybody attends and walks away knowing and understanding more about making the situation better and knows how to do more, then we’ve done well,” said Farano.
The Indigenous Life Festival runs August 25-26 at Blue Mountain Village. Admission is free and it is a family friendly event. Learn more about the event here.
