Remarks by
The Honourable Anita Neville, P.C., O.M.
Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba
NATIONAL INDIGENOUS PEOPLES DAY AT MARYMOUND
Marymound, 442 Scotia Street
Tuesday, June 6, 2023, 1 p.m.
(please check against delivery)
Fellow Manitobans, thank you for the opportunity to join you at this celebration of culture, community and caring.
As Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba, I honour and acknowledge that we are gathered on Treaty One land, and in the heartland of the Red River Metis.
This beautiful and diverse province is also the ancestral and the present-day home of the Anishinaabe, Cree, Dakota, and Dene peoples.
I also recognize that northern Manitoba includes lands that were, and are, the ancestral lands of the Inuit.
Together, we will continue to work to hear truths, and to advance understanding, opportunity, and healing for all.
Building a better Manitoba – and a better world – is a big job and it’s one that takes a long-term commitment by us all.
It takes dedicated people, like the staff and volunteers and friends of Marymound. It takes families and communities who look out for one another and celebrate one another.
Young people, like those involved in programs here at Marymound, are the reason for that dedication. For many of us, seeing young people learn and grow and experience the world with joy is a kind of medicine that goes straight to the heart.
As we witness joy and discovery and self-expression today at this National Indigenous Peoples Day celebration we will all get a bit of that heart medicine.
Today – and at National Indigenous Peoples Day events throughout this month – we will experience the power and diversity of Indigenous culture, music, dance, and wisdom.
I hope the spirit of this celebration will inspire and strengthen us as we all work for a future of caring, sharing and understanding.
Thank you, Merci, Meegwich