Newly Elected MNC President Marks National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

Caron calls for unity and reflection to promote the spirit of reconciliation

SASKATOON, SK, Sept. 30, 2021 /CNW/ - Cassidy Caron, who was elected president of the Métis National Council today, released the following statement to mark the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

"As the sun sets on this day, the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, we have come together to mourn the children who were taken from us. The aunties, uncles, mooshums and kookums who never had the privilege of growing old. The generations of Métis, First Nations and Inuit children who were stolen, abused, and never came home. Canada did the wrong thing for many, many generations, and our people have suffered immeasurably because of it.

The legacy of colonialism through residential schools, the execution of Louis Riel, and hundreds of years of systemic racism, was designed to make us forget our ancestors and our way of life. Too many were victimized and traumatized. Too many were taken.

We as Métis people have fought tirelessly alongside our First Nation and Inuit relatives to recover from that trauma. This work is ongoing. There is not a single Indigenous person- First Nation, Inuit, or Métis - who has not been impacted by residential schools and colonialism.

But we are still here. We are reclaiming, rebuilding, and reestablishing our culture, our way of life, and our nationhood, one day at a time.

Today, I call upon every Métis person – in the spirit of this day, to join us in building a bright future for the Métis Nation. The MNC has been the representative of the Métis Nation for decades, but it needs your help now. It's time we start working together.

Today, I call upon all Canadians to reckon with the history of what their country has done to our people. You may call this a great country, and by many accounts Canada has accomplished great things, but it has come at a terrible price for its First Peoples. As descendants of the Red River, the meeting between First Nations and Europeans, the Métis live in that complexity. It is our heritage, just as much as the harm that has been done to us.

The Métis Nation is strong, and we work every day to fulfill the dreams of Louis Riel and Gabriel Dumont, and all of those who died so that we could have our great nation and self-determination. It is a right inherent to who we are.

SOURCE Métis National Council

Marc St. Germain, 613-808-4333, [email protected]