Westbank First Nation aboriginal Gordon Swite loves spending time with his daughter on National Aboriginal Day.
Swite has been bringing her to the Kelowna National Aboriginal Day celebration for the past three years as a way to share his culture and history with her.
“It’s our culture, we gotta keep it alive,” he said.
His daughter, now three, loves the event, said Swite.
The pair were among many people who are celebrating the day in Kelowna as events were taking place to honour Canada’s indigenous people.
The Métis Community Services Society had food, music, drumming and children’s activities throughout the day at Stuart Park, Wednesday.
Executive director Kelly L’Hirondelle said the event is about celebrating the aboriginal culture.
“As Métis in our history, we used to fiddle and dance and jig. We were voyagers and fur traders. I think this is one of the most important things that we do is to have events like this so we can bring together culture, people and food.”
The start of this year’s event fell in the middle of the week, so L’Hirondelle expects there to be less than their usual 400 people.
“It’s really about connection and sense of belonging. I feel the Métis community here, especially in Kelowna, has been growing,” he said.
The society has been able to receive grants to fund the event and has been going for eight years in Kelowna with the community services.
