Message of National Indigenous Peoples Day should be heard all year, Elijah Harper's son says

The son of the man who originally called for the establishment of what is now National Indigenous Peoples Dayknows his father as more than the visionary who historically stood up for his people during the debate over the MeechLake Accord.

"People view ElijahHarper the hero.I just call him Dad," said Bruce Harper, chuckling.

He was in his early 20swhen hisfather,the late Manitoba politician who rose to fame for blocking the passage of constitutional amendments pushed by the federal government,wanted to acknowledgeCanada's First Peoples on a national scale.

National Aboriginal Day,as it was originally named, was proclaimed in 1996. It was a year afterthe Sacred Assembly, a national conference of Indigenous and non-Indigenous people chaired by Elijah Harper, called for a holiday to celebrate the contributions of Indigenous people.

The day had also been recommended by the Royal Commission of Aboriginal Peoples, and by the National Indian Brotherhood, precursor to the Assembly of First Nations, in 1982.

National Indigenous Peoples Day is now celebrated every June21 and National Indigenous History Month isobserved every June.

Today, Elijah Harper's son is pleased to see the Indigenous Peoples Day celebration take hold.

"It means a lot to have a national day for our peopleto be recognized," he said."I'm happy for it and I'm glad. It's a step towardrecognizing our people."

The country still has a long way to go in recognizing the accomplishmentsof Indigenous Peoples, as well as thesuppression they have faced from the church andstate, Brucesaid.

"We're the First Peoples of this land and we have a lot of history. We've had our language, our cultures, our storiesand we've been here for a long, long time," he said.

Bruce would liketo see the kind of events that mark Indigenous Peoples Day extended to an annual week of celebration, featuring powwows, square dance competitions and a feast.

MeechLake Accord

Elijah Harper playeda significant role in the history of Indigenouspeople in Canada.

He came tonational attention in 1990 when, as a member of the Manitoba Legislative Assembly, he quietly voted against theMeechLake Accord, eagle feather in hand.

His vote effectively stoppedthe constitutional amendment that was supposed to win Quebec's acceptance of the Constitution Act of 1982 by preventing Manitoba from approving the accord, which required passage by all 10 provinces and the federal government, before the deadline.

Harper objected to the package because Indigenous people weren't included in thenegotiations and their concerns were not addressed in the act.

While it was an important turning point, Bruce Harper findsthat manyCanadians still hold a "wilful ignorance" ofIndigenous people. Educating all Canadians, including newcomers, can change that, he says.

"Mainstream society says the Aboriginal people are getting handouts from the government, but the treatiesand agreements are that we share the revenues of this land. So a lot of the money that is entrusted by the feds to the Aboriginal people comes from the productivity that this land has provided for this country."