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When Irene Morin addressed the crowd at Edmonton City Centre to give the opening prayer for National Aboriginal Day celebrations Monday, she noticed a lot of volunteers wearing red T-shirts.

“We like the colour red because everybody bleeds red, so we’re all brothers and sisters in this world,” the Enoch Cree nation elder said before delivering a prayer in Cree.

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Hundreds of shoppers and spectators, including provincial Indigenous Relations Minister Richard Feehan and school children, gathered to watch a 90-minute program of traditional dance and music.

“Events such as this provide an excellent opportunity to learn more about indigenous cultures as we move forward towards reconciliation,” he said in a news release.

Representatives were also on hand from the Alberta Native Friendship Centre Association to promote the programs they offer. One is the Moose Hide Campaign, which encourages men to wear small swathes of moose hide as part of a promise to end violence against indigenous women.