Chief Brian Francis, Chief of the Abegweit First Nation, has been named this year’s Parade Marshal for the Gold Cup Parade on August 18th.
The theme for this year’s parade is “Canada, Eh!” in celebration of Canada’s 150th birthday, and Parade Chair Ray Murphy says they’re thrilled to have the Indigenous community involved in the 2017 parade.
Murphy says the First Nations People have been part of this land for centuries and having Chief Francis as part of the celebration shows the important role Indigenous people play and have played in our country.
Chief Francis says he is honoured to be the Parade Marsha. He adds that his ancestors have been on this island for over 12,000 years, and having an Indigenous leader as the Marshal would never have happened decades or even a few years ago.