Senators to host annual Indigenous Peoples appreciation night Dec. 6
Posted Dec 4, 2022 09:30:00 PM.
The Ottawa Senators will host their fourth annual Indigenous Peoples Appreciation Night on Tuesday, Dec. 6, when the team plays the Los Angeles Kings at home.
Fans will participate in a celebration of Indigenous culture and engage with the Algonquin Anishinaabeg Nation, the ancestral unceded land on which the Canadian Tire Centre sits.
In the afternoon before the game, the Senators will host a hockey clinic for Indigenous youth in conjunction with First Assist, an Indigenous-run charity advancing educational achievement in Indigenous communities through sport.
Later, when the arena doors open at 5 p.m., fans will see an Indigenous artisans' market along the 200-level concourse at Gate 1. The market will include antler painters, moccasin and glove makers, beaders and other traditional artists.
Black Bear Singers, an Indigenous Juno award-nominated drum group from Manawan, Québec will perform, and other Indigenous singers and dancers will join them throughout the night.
Kim Ratt of Black Bear Singers will be drummed in and out as she performs the National Anthem before the game.
Community elder and newly appointed chancellor of the University of Ottawa, Claudette Commanda, will also be in attendance to lead a traditional smudging ceremony for Senators fans during the first intermission behind section 201.
The Senators have invited and engaged community members, elders, artisans, community groups and performers from Awkesasne, Kitigan Zibi, Lac Simon, Maniwaki, Ottawa, Pikwikigan, Rapid Lake and Elsipogtog, New Brunswick, the 2022 Kraft Hockeyville winners.
