Ward 5 Councillor Andrew Keyes participated in the City of Markham’s event to celebrate Indigenous History Month.
Suzanne Smoke (Ginew Kwe, Golden Eagle Woman), a member of Mississauga’s of Rice Lake, Alderville First Nation, and her daughter, Cedar Smoke.
National Indigenous History Month marks its 10th anniversary this year. It was established to honour the history, heritage and diversity of Indigenous peoples in Canada and to recognize the strength of present-day Indigenous communities.
UNESCO declared 2019 as International Year of Indigenous Languages to raise awareness of the crucial role languages play in people’s daily lives. According to the 2016 Census, the number of people in Canada who were able to speak an Indigenous language increased by eight per cent from 1996 to 2016.
Did you know that the Markham area was once home to close to 2,000 Huron-Wendat people? Learn more about this fascinating part of our history by watching the video documentary below.