Treaty 2 Territory, June 30th, 2021
Out of the deeply held respect and love that we have for our Nation’s Anishinaabe people – specifically for the survivor’s and families harmfully impacted by the Indian Residential Schools; as a Treaty Government we join the call to encourage all municipalities and the City of Winnipeg to postpone, cancel or re-schedule Canada Day Celebrations considering the unmarked and mass graves at residential schools.
Not only are we dealing with this difficult collective mourning and on-going genocidal policies – are also doing our best to improve the quality of Bimaadiziiwin despite the political reality of consistently being held up against narrow and paternalistic interpretations of the Treaties. This is meaningful to share currently as the sovereign and inherent way of creating a better way to understanding us and to stand beside us in this country is open for ongoing discussions now more than ever.
We urge Canadians and Manitobans to stand with us as we honour the truthful and harmful legacy done by the Federal Government, Catholic Church, Indian Residential School and The Royal Canadian Mounted Police. In this collective standing, this day of sacred healing and stillness is one day of many that should be meaningfully set aside to promote humanity, kindness, and dignity out of respect and to honour the lives of children and the generations of peoples that were harmed and lost.
The children that were discovered in the mass grave sites had inherent and treaty rights. The Abinoonjiiwaag are gifts from the Gizhe Manitou (Creator) – Our Anishinaabe value systems and spiritual laws will take precedence in these discussions. We must do our best to honour the lives of the sacred Abinoonjiwaag by creating a new legal and jurisdictional pathway that respects our children and entire Nations on Mikinaak Minis.
“After all, we are sacredly bound together in this” – Grand Chief Eugene Eastman
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For more information on the Government of First Nations in Treaty 2 Territory, please visit our website at www.fnt2t.com
Last modified: July 1, 2021
