For Immediate Release
September 28, 2026

Pimicikamak Cree Nation, Treaty 5 Territory – Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak strongly condemns the racist and hateful display by white nationalists at Tkʼemlúps te Secwépemc. This physical expression of hate reflects the ongoing racism that First Nations people across Canada endure every day as Survivors and Living Witnesses speak the truths of the Indian Residential School system. MKO calls for a full police investigation and urges governments and people across Canada to stand with First Nations by acting now to ensure denialism is recognized and addressed as hate speech.

“When I visited Tkʼemlúps te Secwépemc, I had the privilege of meeting with Survivors and listening to the truths they carried with courage and strength,” said MKO Grand Chief Garrison Settee. “We must honour the experiences of every Survivor by confronting hate where it appears. By upholding the truths with laws that make denialism a crime, we ensure that the history and ongoing impacts of the Indian Residential School system are never dismissed or erased.”

In July, Chiefs at the Assembly of First Nations Annual General Assembly unanimously passed an Emergency Resolution calling on Canada to uphold the truths of Indian Residential School Survivors and Witnesses and to criminalize Indian Residential School denialism as hate speech against First Nations people.

Pimicikamak Cree Nation Chief David Monias introduced the Emergency Resolution, and Grand Chief Garrison Settee seconded it as proxy for Chemawawin Cree Nation. Chiefs in Assembly affirmed that denialism attacks the documented truth and trauma of Survivors of Canada’s Indian Residential School system.
The resolution followed the Senate of Canada’s rejection of an amendment to Bill C-9, often referred to as the Hate Crimes Bill, that would have made Indian Residential School denialism a criminal offence. The Senate Human Rights Committee had approved the amendment before the Senate defeated it in June.
MKO calls on all people in Canada to stand against ignorance and racism and make clear that hate will not be tolerated. Hate directed at First Nations truths must be treated as a crime.

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