ANISHINABEK NATION HEAD OFFICE (June 3, 2020) – One year ago, the Anishinabek Nation Chiefs-in-Assembly stood united following the long-anticipated release of the National Inquiry’s Final Report, Reclaiming Power and Place: The Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
“In Anishinabek culture, our women and girls are held in the highest esteem. They are life-givers and caregivers for our people,” states Anishinabek Nation Grand Council Chief Glen Hare. “We demand the Federal Government fully support and implement the Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. Failure to do so perpetuates the targeted genocide of our people. This must stop.”
The two-volume report, released on June 3, 2019, in Gatineau, Quebec, revealed that “persistent and deliberate human and Indigenous rights violations and abuses are the root cause behind Canada’s staggering rates of violence against [Indigenous women, girls and two-spirited, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex and asexual] (2SLGBTQQIA)”. The report also called upon all levels of government, police and Canadians for “transformative legal and social changes to resolve the crisis that has devastated Indigenous communities across the country.” Such as changes to structural systems that currently prolong violence against Indigenous women and girls.
Today, this fundamental report, made possible through the truths of more than 2,380 survivors of violence, family members, experts and Knowledge Keepers, continues to sit on the shelf as the federal government fails to respond to the vital 231 Calls to Justice or to establish a timeline for the release of a National Action Plan.
The Anishinabek Nation is a political advocate for 39 member First Nations across Ontario, representing approximately 65,000 citizens. The Anishinabek Nation is the oldest political organization in Ontario and can trace its roots back to the Confederacy of Three Fires, which existed long before European contact.