Statement by Chief Erwin Redsky on the occasion of the visit of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to Shoal Lake 40 First Nation
This past thursday, Justin Trudeau made the trek to Shoal Lake 40 First Nation and spent the whole day there with the community. The media were kept off the reserve so he could experience the community and their joys and hardships without having to posture and pose. He hauled water into people’s homes, he rode the mud-slick roads in the back of a rez truck, he spent time with the youth, he and Stewart Redsky toured the site of aqueduct intake that has caused such terrible suffering, and he spent time in the Museum of Human Right’s Violations (which is open to visitors btw.) “He’s got good bones,” said my friend who was there. “But he’s going to need a lot of courage and support to do what he hopes to do. It’s vital that he not only knows the facts, but that he feels them.”
Good leaders lead by example. Obviously it’s too early to judge Prime Minister Trudeau’s tenure, but this is an indication of the quality of leadership I’ve been praying for for a long time. I hope newly elected Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister will make a similar trip before he is too far into his term. Canadians, post TRC, are developing a taste and moral capacity for just reconciliation with First Nation’s peoples. I suspect history will remember leaders from this era as having either led us forward, or backward on this particular issue. Below is the speech Chief Erwin Redsky gave at the close of Justin’s visit. It is well worth reading (several times.) —SB
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