SENATORS’ STATEMENTS — National Indigenous Peoples Day
June 21, 2021
Honourable senators, I’m humbled to rise today to recognize and celebrate National Indigenous Peoples Day. This day is all about recognizing the important and fundamental contributions that First Nations, Inuit and Métis have made to the national identity and culture of all Canadians. Our cultures, heritages, traditions, languages and spirituality have shaped our own past, and I believe they can and will enrich the future of Canada.
Our creativity, industriousness and entrepreneurship are helping to build a more prosperous and productive economy, such as the recent acquisition of Clearwater Fine Foods by a coalition of Mi’kmaq First Nations led by my home community of Membertou. On this day, it’s important to note the progress we have made as Indigenous peoples and as nations within the Canadian federation. I’d like to share another example of where Indigenous ingenuity is yielding real value and benefit to the community.
Mi’kmaw Kina’matnewey, or MK, is a collective of 12 Mi’kmaq communities that created its own education authority in 1997 through a self-government agreement with Canada that is community-based and Mi’kmaq led. They did so in an effort to overcome the contrast of dominant Eurocentric school systems and in the devastating wake of Indian residential schools. Mi’kmaw Kina’matnewey has achieved this objective through collaborative governance, effective planning, strategic influence and transformative Mi’kmaq teacher education. The results of their endeavour speak for themselves, with high school graduation rates that range from 85% to 90% annually, which is more than double the graduation rate for Indigenous students in the rest of Canada. MK is undoubtedly the most successful Indigenous education system in Canada.
What’s more, MK was recently recognized in the receiving of the Governor General’s Innovation Award. The award celebrates excellence and innovation across all sectors of Canadian society and inspires Canadians, particularly Canadian youth, to be entrepreneurial innovators. They are awarded to individuals, teams or organizations whose innovations are truly exceptional, transformative and positively impact the quality of life in Canada.
Honourable senators, the recent days have not been easy ones, especially for Indigenous peoples and certainly not for the national moral conscience of this country. But in the face of tragedy, we may still find reminders of the indomitable spirit of First Nations, Inuit and Métis people. My Mi’kmaq brothers and sisters with Mi’kmaw Kina’matnewey are shining proof of this.
Let each one of us pause on this National Indigenous Peoples Day to celebrate the warmth, diversity, talent and determination of the Indigenous community. And let us choose to always welcome Indigenous people’s contributions to Canada, as the words of the old treaty instruct us, “for as long as the sun shines, the grass grows and the river flows.”
Wela’lioq. Thank you.
Honourable senators, June 21, 2021, marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of National Indigenous Peoples Day, a time to celebrate the rich histories, cultures, traditions and contributions of First Nations, Métis and Inuit people and to reflect on the significant work remaining in our collective journey toward truth, justice, healing and reconciliation. Although generally a joyous and uplifting occasion, activities taking place today have taken a more sombre and reflective tone because of the immense grief and mourning felt over the discovery of mass graves at the sites of formal residential institutions in British Columbia, Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
These innocent children have brought to light what so many of us have known and spoken about for too long and confronted non-Indigenous people with the widespread neglect, abuse and death perpetrated by state and church officials with little outcry. The sheer shock and horror have prompted growing demands for immediate action and accountability, including implementation of the 94 Calls to Action issued six years ago by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Some of these are concerned with the nationwide search, identification and return of remains. There have also been appeals for Canada to drop the legal battles involving residential school survivors and First Nations children separated from their families due to the underfunding of child welfare and other services. These are all important and necessary steps that need to be taken and have to be situated within the context of the ongoing genocide of Indigenous people in Canada.
Governments, churches and society as a whole have to reckon and atone for this fact. Colleagues, this National Indigenous Peoples Day, which coincides with the summer solstice, is associated with growth and renewal. I stand in strength, unity and pride with my Indigenous brothers and sisters and remain hopeful that the long-overdue and urgent change needed to build a new relationship has begun. The passage of Bill C-15, An Act respecting the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, is an example of the small yet significant steps forward made this year, which we must commit to translate into concrete action and outcomes. Wela’lioq. Thank you.
