Montreal’s Native community marked National Aboriginal Day on Thursday with a celebration in the Old Port, the first time the event was held at the historic meeting point between Indigenous people and European newcomers.

Since that first contact, the history between the two groups has been often brutal, with recent examples being the residential school system and ‘Sixties Scoop’ that saw Native children taken from their homes and cultures.

“This is something that wasn’t possible 50 years ago,” said Assembly of First Nations Quebec-Labrador Chief Ghislain Picard. “Our people were marginalized, there was intent on assimilating our people. Colonialism, nobody can deny it’s part of Canadian history.”

Picard and other Native leaders noted there are still many issues facing Canada’s Indigenous communities, including access to health care, housing and education. Quebec Indian Affairs Minister Geoff Kelley said there’s been progress made in relations, pointing to the addition of a white pine to Montreal’s flag.

“First and foremost, prejudice is born in ignorance,” he said. “The more we are aware of our Indigenous neighbours, the challenges, the often tragic chapters of our history, the more it allows us to build a better future together.”

Among those who attended there ceremony was Stanislas Mailly, a victim of the ‘Sixties Scoop.’ He said he grew up not knowing anything about his roots.

“I was adopted by white people, they never showed me my culture,” he said. “I knew I was First Nations but never thought anything of it.”

Mailly left home at 18 and ended up with a drug addiction and living on the streets for 10 years.

“Getting up in the morning, getting my first hit or my first puff of crack and I just realized it wasn’t the life I wanted to live,” he said.

In May, a federal judge approved an $875 million settlements for scoop survivors. Picard said efforts at reconciliation like the settlement and the ceremony are key to healing the wounds of the past.

“Indigenous people are not only part of the history of a few centuries ago, they’re also part of the history of today,” he said. “To me, that’s very much telling about the fact that the mentalities are changing.”