To view this media release in a PDF format, please click here. 

 

For immediate release
November 19, 2021

 

From left to right: Pam Smith of Indigenous Services Canada (ISC); Assembly of First Nations Regional Chief Cindy Woodhouse, Manitoba Region; MKO Grand Chief Settee; the Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Indigenous Services; and Kandice Leonard of ISC are pictured at MKO‘s Chiefs Assembly on November 17, 2021.

Treaty Five Territory, Thompson, MB – Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak (MKO) Inc. held a Chiefs Assembly called “Leading the Way on Transformative Change” in Winnipeg this week. The Assembly was an opportunity for leaders to work on issues of concern to the 26 Northern First Nations that MKO represents.

“First Nations in Northern Manitoba continue to focus on transforming systems and finding solutions to the ongoing issues our communities face,” shared Grand Chief Garrison Settee. “I thank all the leaders, along with all presenters, who joined us in Treaty One territory this week to work on issues of importance to MKO First Nations.”

The Chiefs-in-Assembly passed 10 resolutions at the Assembly as follows:

  • Support for Jordan’s Principle Long-Term Care Facility
  • Support for a Leadership Gathering to End Gender-Based Violence and Restore Matriarchal and Gender Roles as Integral to Nationhood
  • Support for the Development of a Plan to Transfer Manitoba Justice Victims Services Specific to the MKO Region to the Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak Inc. Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Liaison Unit
  • Support for a Regional Gathering of Service Providers Related to Missing and Murdered First Nations Women, Girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ People
  • Support to Develop a Decolonized Province-Wide First Nations Gender Equality and Gender-Based Curriculum for all Grades and Enhance Access to Prevention Programs and Services for First Nations Girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ Peoples
  • Health System Transformation – Provincial Investments in Northern Health – Clinical Preventive Services Plan (CPSP)/Indigenous Partnership Strategy Framework Engagement (IPSFE)
  • Support for Children, Youth and Young Adults with Complex Medical Needs in MKO First Nations and to Fully Implement Jordan’s Principle
  • Board Appointments to the First Nations of Northern Manitoba Child and Family Services Authority
  • Implementing the COVID-19 Protocol and By-Law in the MKO First Nations
  • Ensuring FNSO Funding and Resources are Comparable to Policing and Security Services

MKO livestreamed the Assembly on our Facebook page. Videos from the Assembly proceedings are available at: www.facebook.com/MKONorth

“I continue to be grateful for and inspired by the MKO First Nations leadership,” stated Grand Chief Settee. “I thank the Northern leaders for their continued direction and support as we continue to push for improvements in Northern Manitoba. I also send my appreciation to the MKO staff for organizing this week’s Assembly.”

The final adopted resolutions will be available on our website: https://mkonation.com/about-mko/#mko-constitution

-30-

 

For more information:
Melanie Ferris, MKO Communications
Phone: 204-612-1284
Email: [email protected]
Web: https://mkonation.com/