Scenes from the Montreal First Peoples' Festival 2012

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Scenes from the Montreal First Peoples' Festival 2012

A Tribe Called Red, the renowned DeeJay hip-hop trio, relax backstage after rocking the Place des Festivals on Friday August 3.

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Scenes from the Montreal First Peoples' Festival 2012

The crowd was on its feet at the Place Des Festivals as the Montreal First Peoples' Festival got into its groove on Friday August 3.

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Scenes from the Montreal First Peoples' Festival 2012

The Montreal First Peoples' Festival iconic multicolored turtle, representing the diverse nations residing on Turtle Island, anchored the festival under a big tipi in the middle of the city's main square, the Place des Festivals.

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Scenes from the Montreal First Peoples' Festival 2012

Children frolicked in the fountains of the Place des Festivals under blazing sun at the Montreal First Peoples' Festival, August 2012.

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Scenes from the Montreal First Peoples' Festival 2012

Marisol Ramos braids the hair of Marilyn Lopez as the two Guatemalan Mayan women prepare to march in the Nuestroamerica Friendship Parade, which celebrated the hemisphere’s indigenous, and then some.

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Scenes from the Montreal First Peoples' Festival 2012

Montreal First Peoples' Festival organizer André Dudemaine, left, marched in the Nuestroamerica Friendship Parade, which celebrates in part the ratification of the United Nations Declaration the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

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Scenes from the Montreal First Peoples' Festival 2012

The four sacred elements—earth, air, fire and water—were represented, Mother Earth depicted by caribou effigies and pine trees that converted part of the Place des Festivals into a shady forest glen.

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Scenes from the Montreal First Peoples' Festival 2012

Shal Malakesh, indigenous of Quebec, tends geese roasting over the large torch-cum-bonfire in the main square. The food was fed to festival workers and volunteers. Malakesh said it’s a traditional way of cooking for many tribes.

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Scenes from the Montreal First Peoples' Festival 2012

For those who had not earned a slice of roast goose, there was no shortage of restaurants ringing the Place des Festivals, with such delectables as sauteed squid, washed down with Prosecco.

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Scenes from the Montreal First Peoples' Festival 2012

Totem carving was one of the many aboriginal crafts on display at the Place des Festivals during the Montreal First Peoples' Festival.

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Scenes from the Montreal First Peoples' Festival 2012

Many wares were for sale at the Place des Festivals during the Montreal First Peoples' Festival in August 2012.

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Scenes from the Montreal First Peoples' Festival 2012

Dancers and drummers entertained spectators all day on August 4 and 5, 2012, showcasing aboriginal culture for the hundreds who happened by.

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Scenes from the Montreal First Peoples' Festival 2012

The Nuestroamerica Friendship Parade wended its way down Saint Catherine Street from Phillips Square and ended at the Place des Festivals, where First Nations dancers and drummers were waiting for them onstage.

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Scenes from the Montreal First Peoples' Festival 2012

After making their way from Phillips Square, marchers in the Nuestroamerica Friendship Parade gathered on stage and took turns sharing their traditional dances.

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Scenes from the Montreal First Peoples' Festival 2012

Montreal's center square, the Place des Festivals, was the hub of the activities, anchored by a tipi in the center and with the stage at one end, left.

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Scenes from the Montreal First Peoples' Festival 2012

By:

ICTMN Staff

September 01, 2012

The Montreal First Peoples' Festival was a spectacular showcasing indigenous film, music, artists and dancers, among many others, that ran through the first week of August in and around the city's main Place des Festivals. Here as the summer winds down, we look back at the best scenes from the festival, which went from July 31 through August 8 and featured the likes of hip-hop deejay group A Tribe Called Red, the Kahnawake drumming and dance troupe Red Tail Spirit, and many other artists. Read all about the festival at Fun and Frolic: Montreal First Peoples’ Festival Brings Aboriginals and Non-Natives Together.

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