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Tourism, Culture and Recreation
Labrador and Aboriginal Affairs
June 25, 2010

Provincial Government Supports Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Initiatives

Aboriginal groups across the province are receiving over $46,550 through the Provincial Government's Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Program (ACHP) to support projects designed to preserve Aboriginal practices and cultures for generations to come.

"In 2008, the Provincial Government implemented a pilot project designed to address the increasingly urgent need to preserve Newfoundland and Labrador's Aboriginal heritage," said the Honourable Terry French, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Recreation. "Since that time, through the ACHP, our government has shown its continued commitment to safeguarding the valuable tangible and intangible aspects of Aboriginal heritage in this province, and to ensuring it survives, and is celebrated, for many years to come."

Projects eligible for ACHP funding include those which document and inventory Aboriginal cultural traditions, encourage cultural economic activity, and those which recognize, celebrate and promote Aboriginal heritage in all its forms. Applications are reviewed by the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Advisory Committee, composed of representatives from Aboriginal groups across the province.

"Throughout Newfoundland and Labrador, Aboriginal people are seeking out new and innovative ways of celebrating, expressing and preserving their origins and traditions," said the Honourable Patty Pottle, Minister of Aboriginal Affairs. "These projects, supported through funding provided by the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Program, are a recognition of the contribution of Aboriginal people to this province's cultural heritage, and the ongoing  efforts to ensure its preservation."

The following organizations have received funding under the 2010 Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Program:

  • Federation of Newfoundland Indians, Corner Brook — $11,000 to digitize and archive oral history interviews with Mi'kmaq peoples from Western and Central Newfoundland;
     
  • Torngâsok Cultural Centre, Nain $9,000 to record knowledge from Inuit Elders regarding the tradition of stone inuksuit;
     
  • Miawpukek First Nation, Conne River— $9,000 to develop a Mi'kmaq Medicinal Walk, which will provide the community and visitors with information on the plants and herbs used in traditional healing;
     
  • Nunatsiavut Government, Makkovik $8,000 to undertake an Elders' Storytelling Project that will preserve local culture and be used as a teaching tool for future generations;
     
  • Flat Bay Indian Band, Flat Bay $6,000 to deliver workshops on Mi'kmaq traditions in the week leading up to the 2010 Flat Bay Powwow, to be held July 17-18;
     
  • Corner Brook Aboriginal Women's Association, Corner Brook $2,000 to organize a ritual performance workshop that will encourage participation in Mi'kmaq traditions such as smudging, drumming, singing and dancing; and,
     
  • St. George's Indian Band, St. George's $1,550 to organize a workshop on the traditional skill of spruce root basket weaving.

For further information on the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Program, including application guidelines and criteria, visit: www.tcr.gov.nl.ca/tcr/heritage/aboriginal_cultural_heritage_program.html

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Media contacts:

Heather May
Director of Communications
Department of Tourism, Culture and Recreation
709-729-0928, 697-5061
heathermay@gov.nl.ca
John Tompkins
Director of Communications
Department of Labrador and Aboriginal Affairs
709-729-1674, 728-7762
jtompkins@gov.nl.ca

2010 06 25                                                       9:55 a.m.


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