Jun 23, 2009 - 01:56 PM

By Reka Szekely

PICKERING -- Employees at the Pickering nuclear generating station got a taste of First Nations culture last week at an event celebrating National Aboriginal Day.

The day coincides with the solstice on June 21, and OPG held four events preceding it, including the one in Pickering. Last Wednesday, employees sampled bannock and wild rice and checked out the work of artists and crafters before sitting down for music and dancing from the Sugar Island Singers from Alderville.

Joe Heil is a senior advisor on aboriginal relations for the company and a member of Ontario Power Generation's Native Circle, who organized the event.

"It's a collective of aboriginal people at OPG that formed to discuss issues we have in common with respect to First Nations and OPG," he said.

Mr. Heil said the company's former incarnation, Ontario Hydro, had a difficult past with First Nations people because of hydro developments that had a big impact on communities, such as flooding the lands.

"We've gone through a program of addressing those things through a past-grievance process," he said.

Beyond that, the company is now working on creating partnerships with aboriginal communities, such as the one for a new generating station on Lac Seul in northwestern Ontario. The Lac Seul First Nation signed an agreement for a 25-per cent share in the station.

As well, OPG is engaging in outreach, including building capacity in communities so that people who live there can work at the plants. Mr. Heil said in Durham, native peoples are being consulted for the Pickering plant refurbishment and the new build at Darlington.

Julie Trapper, of Alderville, brought her two children to the event with the Sugar Island Singers. Eight-year-old Tiger joined the boys in dancing and two-year old Winter wore a jingle dress which had chimes sewn onto it.

Ms. Trapper said it's part of the children's lives from a young age and pregnant mothers often stand by the drummers.

"That drumbeat is the heartbeat of Mother Earth, so our children hear that and it's very comforting to them," she said.

Tiger said he wasn't nervous about being in front of the group.

"I like it because you can dance and it's fun," he said.

Members of OPG's native circle joined the dancers in their grand entrance to the sound of the men and older boys from the Sugar Island Singers singing and drumming.

Alderville elder Randall Smoke spoke to the group, followed by Pickering B senior vice-president Paul Pasquet.

"From the flyers and the way you have this room set up, you take this very seriously which makes me very proud," said Mr. Smoke.

During the performance, Bruce Smoke explained each of the songs and introduced the dances. He also talked about the importance of the group being there together including the men, women and children. He explained the role of men as the fire keepers and the women as water keepers.

"As we know, we can't have a fire without water, it's all about the balance," he said.

Ms. Trapper later spoke for the women.

The grass dancers, made up of the boys, kicked things off and then the girls danced the butterfly's flight, opening their colourful shawls like a butterfly's wings. The girls also sang a song to the beat of a hand drum.

At the end, the spectators were all drawn in to the dancing, with the children enticing the shyer members of the audience to let go and join in.