Quebec’s First Nations remember 10,000 years of presence and 400 years of colonialism
August 9th, the FNQLHSSC join the Assembly of First Nations of Quebec and Labrador (AFNQL) to celebrated the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples in a very original way. In Quebec City’s Place d’Youville, the AFNQL decided to hold an event illustrating the difficult times experienced by the First Nations since the arrival of the first French colonists. “We wanted to remind people that there was life here before the arrival of Jacques Cartier or Christopher Columbus. We have lived in this territory for more than 10,000 years. It is important to remember that fact, especially in this year marking the 400th anniversary of the founding of Quebec City,” said Chief Ghislain Picard.
Chief Picard wanted to organize an information event presenting the journey of the First Nations through the past four centuries. To do so, historians Camil Girard and Denys Delâge and anthropologist Isabelle Picard prepared an historical portrait of the presence of the First Nations in Quebec and their relations with the newcomers from first contact to the present day.
The AFNQL also stressed the importance of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples for the survival of the First Nations and all of the world’s Indigenous Peoples. A petition to this effect was signed by the participants, urging Canada to comply with this important document and calling for the Quebec National Assembly to pass a motion in support of the UN declaration.
A number of First Nations artists, including Claude McKenzie, Marcel Godbout, Samuel Savard, Wendy Moar Pascal Ottawa, Shauit and Samian enlivened the event, with more than a hundred people in attendance.
