AMC Calls on Manitoba to Move Beyond Education and Confront Residential School Denialism
October 13, 2026
Treaty One Territory, Manitoba
Jesse Nobess
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AMC Calls on Manitoba to Move Beyond Education and Confront Residential School Denialism
TREATY ONE TERRITORY, MB (October 13, 2026) — Even while participating in Team Canada’s Trade Mission to India, Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) Grand Chief Kyra Wilson is speaking out on an issue too important to leave unanswered: the growing need for political leadership to confront residential school denialism and the harm it causes Survivors, their families and First Nations.
On Friday, October 9, Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew stated on CBC Radio, in reference to federal NDP MP Leah Gazan’s private member’s Bill C-254, which proposes amendments to the Criminal Code concerning the promotion of hatred against Indigenous people: “I don’t think we can criminalize this. I think we have to just do the continued work of educating people and trying to combat misinformation.”
“Education matters, but it cannot be the only response to the deliberate denial of what happened to our children in residential schools. Survivors have told their truths. Families have carried their grief. First Nations have spent generations demanding that Canada acknowledge the devastating consequences of institutions and policies designed to destroy our languages, cultures, families and ways of life,” said Grand Chief Wilson.
“It is a criminal offence in Canada to wilfully promote antisemitism by condoning, denying or downplaying the Holocaust in a public place or communication. We must have a serious national conversation about how the law should respond to residential school denialism, including the deliberate spreading of falsehoods that dismiss the documented experiences of Survivors and the deaths of children at these institutions.”
AMC calls on the Manitoba government to work directly with First Nations leadership and residential school Survivors to advance meaningful measures to confront denialism, combat racism and protect the dignity of Survivors and their families. Any response must be grounded in the voices, experiences and direction of First Nations, rather than placing yet another burden on our people to educate others about the harms inflicted upon them.
“Our children should not have to grow up in a country where the truth of what happened to their grandparents is treated as a matter of debate,” said Grand Chief Wilson. “We cannot keep telling our people to educate, explain and be patient while those who deliberately deny our history face no meaningful consequences for the harm they cause. There is a fundamental difference between a lack of understanding and the deliberate denial of documented history and the lived experiences of Survivors.”
Grand Chief Wilson also warned that efforts to confront denialism must be matched by a commitment to preserve the historical record and protect Survivors’ testimony. The federal government’s proposed changes to the Independent Assessment Process raise serious concerns about whether Survivors’ accounts and the evidence of what occurred in church- and state-run institutions will continue to be preserved and respected.
“We cannot speak about reconciliation while allowing the record of Survivors’ experiences to be undermined or erased. Their testimony is part of the historical record of this country. Protecting that truth is a responsibility that belongs to all of us, particularly those in positions of political leadership.”
Residential school denialism does not occur in isolation. Dismissing or denying the experiences of First Nations reinforces racism, deepens harm across generations and undermines the relationships that reconciliation is supposed to build.
“As an Honourary Witness to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Premier Kinew has a particular responsibility to understand the weight of this issue. Reconciliation cannot stop at educating people about what happened. It requires political leaders and Canadian society to confront the consequences of that history, stand with Survivors and take meaningful action when their truths are denied,” said Grand Chief Wilson.
“First Nations have done the work of telling the truth. Now we need political leaders to demonstrate the courage to act.”
Grand Chief Wilson is participating in Team Canada’s Trade Mission to India, advancing economic relationships and opportunities for First Nations. While she is unable to participate in media interviews at this time, she considers this issue important enough to respond publicly while abroad.
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For more information, please contact:
Communications Team
Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs
Email: media@manitobachiefs.com
About the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs:
The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs was created in 1988 by First Nations in Manitoba to coordinate political action and technical work on common issues. Through the Chiefs-in-Assembly, AMC works collectively to promote, preserve, and protect First Nations and Treaty rights, strengthen First Nations cultures, traditions, languages, economies and societies, and advance self-determination and self-government. AMC represents 63 First Nations in Manitoba and the diverse Anishinaabe, Nehetho/Ininew, Anisininew, Denesuline, and Dakota Oyate peoples.