STATEMENT - Honouring the strength and resilience of Indigenous peoples

Today, we mark National Indigenous Peoples Day to recognize, honour and celebrate the diverse cultures, traditions, and achievements of First Nations, the Métis Nation, and Inuit in Canada.

So much of Canada’s identity and character is owed to the influence of generations of Indigenous leaders, Elders, artists, teachers, healers, and visionaries. Their valuable contributions have happened in spite of years of colonial oppression, the dispossession of land, the residential school system, the 60s Scoop, and other destructive government policies.  

Today, we honour the strength and resilience of Indigenous peoples in Canada. We celebrate the invaluable contributions that Indigenous men and women make in all aspects of life in Canada – from the arts, to music, to business, to medicine, to politics, to science, and sport. Their creativity, innovation, wisdom and knowledge inspires and influences the way we see and understand the world around us. 

As we celebrate and recognize the accomplishments and contributions of Indigenous peoples in Canada, it is also an opportunity to make a promise to learn more about our country’s past – we must teach every child in Canada the truth about our history.

In the spirit of reconciliation, we must walk forward together towards a future where Indigenous human rights, including the right to self-determination, languages, cultures, and traditions and laws, are recognized, valued, respected and celebrated by our children and their children.

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