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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