Shoal Lake 40 First Nation has released an open letter to Kenora's Mayor and Council calling for Kenora's Canada Day celebrations to be called off.

The open letter in its entirety can be read below.

The City of Kenora hadn't responded to a request for comment prior to publishing.

 

Dear Mayor Reynard and Council,

The country that calls itself Canada is located on lands stolen from Indigenous nations who have been here since time immemorial. It’s well documented that Canada’s theft of our lands and resources was accomplished by a conscious policy of Indigenous displacement and by D.C. Scott’s “final solution” of cultural genocide. Under this policy Canada stole our children and locked them in institutions of indoctrination. All our families were traumatized and thousands of children died.

This story is known to you. It’s a story that has been repeated for generations but Canadians have refused to face it. Now, over one thousand unmarked graves have been confirmed and more will be added. The stolen children will not rest in peace. Their small bones are now crying out the real truth of Canada.

Surely you can appreciate that every Indigenous person is currently re-experiencing the trauma of our losses. While our stories are finally being vindicated, not one of us is immune from the deep waves of grief each of these horrible confirmations are bringing. Mr. Mayor, we are hurting. Can you not understand that celebrating “Canada Day” in the midst of our grief is dancing on the graves of our children?

Kenora’s leadership has spoken often in the past about respect for our treaty relationship, about “reconciliation” and you’ve made some fine gestures. But, if the City of Kenora proceeds with the celebration of this Canada Day, in the midst of our grieving, all those words and gestures will be proven hollow. If you celebrate a country that intentionally inflicted these losses on us, you will have broken whatever positive relationship you might have said you wanted with the Anishinaabeg of our territory. If you proceed with celebrations of Canada at this time I will have no choice but to ask Ogichidaa Kavanaugh that our Treaty #3 flag be immediately taken down from Kenora City Hall and returned to Treaty 3.

Respectfully

Vernon Redsky

Chief, Shoal Lake 40 First Nation