Every Child Matters: A sea of orange at the Winnipeg Blue Bombers game on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

On Friday, September 30, 2022, Grand Chief Garrison Settee took part in the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation at the Investors Group Field in Winnipeg, surrounded by a sea of orange shirts.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers partnered with the Exchange Income Corporation (EIC) to honour the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation during a football game versus the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Both teams wore orange jerseys during their warm-up as a nod to Orange Shirt Day. Grand Chief Settee was invited to take part in the coin flip at the beginning of the game.
MKO thanks the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Niigaan Sinclair for inviting MKO to be a part of this special event, along with the 1000 First Nations citizens who received complimentary tickets to attend the game.

MKO thanks the EIC for flying MKO community members via Perimeter, Calm Air, and Custom Helicopters flights to be part of this special event.

MKO also acknowledges our very own staff member, Candice Schneider, for working with the EIC and MKO First Nations to assist the MKO citizens who travelled to the game from their home communities.

MKO commends the EIC for the ongoing commitment to fulfilling Call to Action #92 from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which reads as follows:

92. We call upon the corporate sector in Canada to adopt the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as a reconciliation framework and to apply its principles, norms, and standards to corporate policy and core operational activities involving Indigenous peoples and their lands and resources. This would include, but not be limited to, the following:

i. Commit to meaningful consultation, building respectful relationships, and obtaining the free, prior, and informed consent of Indigenous peoples before proceeding with economic development projects.

ii. Ensure that Aboriginal peoples have equitable access to jobs, training, and education opportunities in the corporate sector, and that Aboriginal communities gain long-term sustainable benefits from economic development projects.

iii. Provide education for management and staff on the history of Aboriginal peoples, including the history and legacy of residential schools, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Treaties and Aboriginal rights, Indigenous law, and Aboriginal-Crown relations. This will require skills-based training in intercultural competency, conflict resolution, human rights, and anti-racism.

You can read all 94 Calls to Action here: https://ehprnh2mwo3.exactdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Calls_to_Action_English2.pdf

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