Our Chief, Louise Nattawappio, was at the Assembly of First Nations Annual General Assembly this week, representing our Nation. She met with Chiefs and delegates from across the country. The person she wanted to tell us about first was Elizabeth (Tshaukuesh) Penashue.

Meeting Elizabeth (Tshaukuesh) Penashue

Chief Nattawappio spent the day with Isabelle Napess, council member of Mingan, and was deeply honoured to meet Elizabeth (Tshaukuesh) Penashue of the Innu Nation, and Kananin.

Elizabeth walked into the assembly hall with her walking stick and her red scarf, and she spoke. One of the things she said stayed with our Chief:

“Leadership will always need women.”

Standing with our Innu relatives

Our Chief also met in person, finally, with relatives she had only known at a distance. Chief Patricia Andrew of Natuashish. Chief Eugene Hart of Sheshatshiu and his council members. Jodie Ashini, Cultural Guardian for the Innu Nation.

Jodie brought forward a resolution rejecting attempts to control First Nations history and undermine the recognition of our rights. The General Assembly adopted it.

This is not a distant fight for us. Our Innu relatives in Labrador are standing up against the Newfoundland and Labrador government’s undermining of Innu existence. The land does not stop at the Quebec and Labrador border, and neither do our families. As our Chief put it:

“We were here more than 300 years ago. First Nations never created borders. We shared with each other the land and the resources, and never took more than we needed.”

Our Nation and our Innu relatives will be meeting to discuss the overlapping lands where governments drew borders that were never ours.

Around the Assembly

The Assembly floor was full: Chiefs, proxies, and delegates from across the country, flags from every Nation lining the stage. Our Chief was in the room for it, and in the working sessions behind it, where the real business gets done.

What’s next

Our Chief is on her way home, and she is bringing this back with her. The relationships, the resolution, and the work of sitting down with our Innu relatives about the lands we share. We are proud of the way she carried our Nation this week.