Simone Smith
Yesterday marked the beginning of National Indigenous History Month, a chance to celebrate the heritage, diverse cultures, and achievements of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples.
NDP Leader Andrea Horwath made a statement on the importance of National Indigenous History Month.
“The Ontario NDP commits to standing in solidarity with Indigenous Peoples who continue to struggle for human rights and for justice — which includes clean drinking water, equitable access to health care and education, safe and dignified housing, and the recognition and activation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The discovery of the remains of 215 children on the site of a former residential school in Kamloops, British Columbia, has united people in grief. Those 215 precious children, and many more across the country, should have lived full lives, and their grandchildren should be here today.
Residential schools erased generations. During National Indigenous History Month, Canada must not only mourn for them but own up to its own history. Residential schools, the Indian Act, and the Sixties Scoop were acts of erasure, and of crimes against humanity.
We call on the Ford government to work with Indigenous Nations to search all former residential school properties in Ontario. We also call on the Ford government to restore funding to the Indigenous Culture Fund and fulfill the calls to action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission that includes a mandatory Indigenous curriculum in Ontario’s schools, so that First Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples’ diverse languages, cultures and heritages are preserved, and Canada’s history of oppression, discrimination, and injustice against Indigenous Peoples is not forgotten.”
