The Canadian Aboriginal Festival is organized and coordinated by Indian Art-I-Crafts of Ontario, a non-profit Aboriginal organization located in Brantford, ON. In addition to the 15 years of the festival, Indian Art-I-Crafts of Ontario has been active in numerous local, provincial and federal Aboriginal events over the past 20 years.

A Board of Directors governs the organization:

The Executive Director is Catherine Cornelius, a status member of the Oneida of the Thames community, has been with Indian Art-I-Crafts since it's inception eighteen years ago. Ms. Cornelius previously worked with the Chiefs of Ontario, the Canadian Government and owns and operates Oneida of the Thames Marketing.

Program Director, Ron Robert, a metis of Mohawk and French descent has also been with the organization since the beginning. He is a former broadcaster, a former assistant to former Prime Minister Trudeau, and a senior government media relations officer.

Executive Assistant, Lisa Jackson, a status member of Oneida of the Thames, has been working with Indian Art-I-Crafts for several years. Ms. Jackson has a degree in Sociology from the University of Western Ontario. She has previously worked as a caseworker and child & youth worker in a women’s shelter and as an intern at HRDC Labor Program.

Aboriginal Teaching Circles

The Teaching Circles are held in at least six cities in southern Ontario. Including, education day at the Canadian Aboriginal Festival held at Toronto's SkyDome, which draws over 7,000 students.

The program is designed to give non-Aboriginal students a positive Aboriginal Experience and to instill in them a desire to learn more about Canada's first peoples. Usually held in city parks or indoor facilities, five to seven stations (depending on the number of students), rotate from station to station and then all assemble at the Dance Circle. The stations are set up to teach the students about various aspects of Aboriginal heritage, culture and history and are taught by credible Aboriginal instructors.

The Teaching Circles are financed through the generosity of Dept. of Indian Affairs, Bank of Montreal and Historica and through the registration fee of $7.00 per student.

To ensure content is in keeping with the wishes of teachers and is appropriate for the Ontario curriculum, the assistance of the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario and the Ontario Teachers' Federation was sought and obtained.

Historica Fairs

Indian Art-I-Crafts in partnership with the Historica Foundation assists in organizing Historica Fairs (similar to science fairs) in elementary schools within Aboriginal communities. For more information on Historica Fairs please click to Historica's website www.histori.ca.

Other Events:

In previous years, Art-I-Crafts produced Aboriginal shows for Ontario Place for Canada Day Celebration, Parks Canada Conference, Scarborough Fall Harvest Festival, Bank of Montreal Conference, the 2002 Queen's Golden Jubilee Celebration in Hamilton and numerous others.

Art-I-Crafts has also organized and coordinated Aboriginal Economic Development Conferences inconjunction with the Canadian Aboriginal Festival.

Click here for a list of Committees and Volunteers