Remarks by
The Honourable Anita Neville, P.C., O.M.
Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba
INDIGENOUS VETERANS’ DAY CEREMONY
Centre for Aboriginal Human Resource Development, 181 Higgins Avenue
Friday, November 8, 2024, 10:30 a.m.
(please check against delivery)
Fellow Manitobans, it is an honour to join you today in paying tribute to the service and sacrifice of Indigenous veterans.
As Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba, I am pleased to acknowledge first that we are gathered on Treaty 1 land and in the heartland of the Red River Metis and that our province is located on the treaty territories and ancestral lands of the Anishinaabe, Anishininew (ANISH-IN-INEW), Cree, Dakota, Dene and Nehetho (NE-HET-HO) Nation and the homeland of the Red River Métis. As well, Manitoba includes northern lands that were and are the ancestral lands of the Inuit.
As Manitobans, we respect the spirit and intent of treaties and treaty making and remain committed to working in partnership with First Nations, Metis and Inuit people in the spirit of truth, reconciliation and collaboration.
The establishment of Nov. 8 at Indigenous Veterans’ Day thirty years ago, in 1994, was a small step toward truth and reconciliation – two decades before the TRC report put those two words on so many minds.
Recognizing the contributions of Indigenous veterans – today and in past generations – is an essential part of acknowledging our history. For too long, the typical image of Canada’s military ignored generations of Indigenous people who volunteered to go abroad and defend Canada at a time when they lacked the most basic rights in their home communities.
It’s especially important that we correct that image here in Manitoba, the home province of Tommy Prince, one of Canada’s greatest military heroes.
Today, throughout Canada’s Armed Forces, Indigenous people serve in all capacities, at all ranks.
Every November, Canadians pause for that special silence to remember those who paid the ultimate price to defend Canada and its values. And we also remember those who have lived with visible or invisible wounds as a result of their service.
In these ceremonies, we acknowledge the debt we owe to veterans. And we affirm that we have a responsibility to repay that debt.
We can never pay back lives that have been lost, but we can go some way to making good on our obligation by working for a better, more just, healthier Canada.
With veterans as our example and inspiration, we can commit ourselves to giving our time, skill and energy to ensure that the Canada they defended is the best place it can be. One way to do that is through education – as you are doing here – developing the skills necessary for a healthier and more prosperous future.
Thank you to all who have organized today’s ceremony, for reminding us of our obligations.
May you see our country live up to its potential and make good on the dreams of those who have served Canada at home and abroad.
Thank you. Merci. Meegwich. Shalom