In June, we celebrate National Indigenous History Month to recognize the history, heritage, and diversity of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples in Canada.

This is a time for us to learn, appreciate, and acknowledge the contributions that they made in shaping this country.

National Indigenous History Month began in 2009 and National Indigenous Peoples Day took place yesterday which was the country's 25th anniversary of celebrating the important day.

With the recognition of this time of year, some of the staff at Weyburn City Hall painted the front windows to express the City of Weyburn's recognition and respect for the ancestral and treaty land on which our city resides.

"We painted the windows to acknowledge that the city of Weyburn is located on Treaty 4 territory," shared Paige Tenbult, Communication Coordinator for the City of Weyburn. "Especially with the Canada Day parade coming by City Hall we wanted to acknowledge and celebrate the land on which we're on."

Treaty 4 is a treaty established between Queen Victoria and the Cree and Saulteaux First Nation band governments. The area covered by Treaty 4 represents most of current-day southern Saskatchewan, plus small portions of what are today western Manitoba and southeastern Alberta.

The Weyburn City Hall staff were also joined by some of the members of the Weyburn Arts Council as they are celebrating National Indigenous History Month as well.

"We wanted to do our best to celebrate Canada Day but also wanted to be respectful and to acknowledge the fundamental transformation that is occurring in Canadian society right now," told Regan Lanning, Curator with the City of Weyburn and the Weyburn Arts Council. "So we've included the color orange into our decorations to recognize the First Nations' involvement in Canada's history and to acknowledge them."

The purpose of wearing and displaying orange is to show a unified step towards reconciliation and building stronger relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.

The color orange was chosen in 2013 when Orange Shirt Day was created in Canada, in recognition of the harm, the residential school system did to children's sense of self-esteem and well-being, and as an affirmation of a commitment to ensure that everyone matters.

The reason for the orange shirt is because of Phyllis Webstad, a well-known survivor of one of Canada's residential schools. When she was first sent to the school in 1973 at the age of just six years she was wearing her favourite orange shirt that her grandmother had bought for her. Immediately after arriving she was stripped of all of her clothes and never saw the orange shirt ever again. Determined to make a difference she traveled across the country telling her story and was finally honoured with an award in 2017.

There are a number of different ways for you to learn more about Canada's true history during this month. The Weyburn Public Library will be sharing posts on their Facebook page and the Weyburn Arts Council has been sharing on their social media pages as well.

"We just look forward to learning and continuing our conversation in the community," added Tenbult.

She encouraged the community to follow the #nationalindigenouspeoplesday on Twitter to see what other local and area organizations are doing to celebrate, educate, and acknowledge.

You can also follow the City of Weyburn on Facebook and Twitter to keep up with their latest projects, ideas, and notices.

Feel free to view our gallery of photos from Regan Lanning and Paige Tenbult from when they were painting the windows at Weyburn City Hall.