Press Releases

Treaty One Territory, Winnipeg, Manitoba (May 27, 2026) — The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) is standing alongside Survivors, families, leadership, and organizations participating in the National Day of Action on May 27, 2026, calling on Canada to protect and sustain Residential School Survivor supports, healing programs, and community-led initiatives connected to truth, healing, and remembrance.

The National Day of Action marks the fifth anniversary of the announcement of the 215 children at Kamloops Indian Residential School and brings together Survivors, intergenerational Survivors, Elders, youth, and communities to honour Survivors and the children who never came home, while raising awareness regarding ongoing funding challenges impacting Residential School-related programs and services.

AMC states that supports connected to Residential School Survivors, Day School Survivors, Sixties Scoop Survivors, intergenerational Survivors, and the ongoing work to honour children who never came home must not remain vulnerable to federal funding reductions, short-term funding cycles, or shifting political priorities.

“First Nations communities continue to carry the ongoing intergenerational impacts of Residential Schools, the child welfare system, forced relocations, and other federal policies,” said Kyra Wilson, Grand Chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs. “The work connected to healing, truth, commemoration, and supporting Survivors cannot be treated as temporary. These responsibilities continue for generations.”

AMC noted that First Nations communities across Manitoba continue to experience growing demands for culturally grounded healing initiatives, mental wellness supports, trauma-informed care, land-based healing, cultural programming, Survivor gatherings, and community-led crisis response initiatives.

“Programs that support Survivors, families, and communities should not be placed at risk every time there are changes to federal budgets or fiscal priorities,” said Grand Chief Wilson. “First Nations should not have to repeatedly justify the need for healing from harms Canada has already acknowledged and accepted responsibility for.”

The AMC further emphasized the importance of protecting supports connected to the ongoing work of locating, documenting, commemorating, and honouring children who never came home, as well as ensuring continuity for Elders, counsellors, cultural knowledge keepers, and frontline healing workers serving First Nations communities throughout Manitoba.

AMC is calling on Canada to work directly with First Nations leadership, Survivors, and communities to ensure long-term and sustainable support for Residential School Survivor programs, healing initiatives, and community-led services that continue to support truth, healing, and remembrance.

“Meaningful reconciliation requires sustained action and long-term commitments,” said Grand Chief Wilson. “Canada has a responsibility to ensure Survivors, families, and communities have the supports necessary to continue the work of healing and honouring the children who never came home.”

The AMC encourages Manitobans and Canadians to support the National Day of Action and stand alongside Survivors, families, and communities calling for the protection of Survivor supports and healing services for future generations.

For more information, please contact: 

Communications Team
Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs
Email:  media@manitobachiefs.com  

About The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs:

The AMC was formed in 1988 by the Chiefs in Manitoba to advocate on issues that commonly affect First Nations in Manitoba. AMC is an authorized representative of all 63 First Nations in Manitoba with a total of more than 172,000 First Nations citizens in the province, accounting for approximately 12 percent of the provincial population. AMC represents a diversity of Anishinaabe, Nehetho / Ininew, Anisininew, Denesuline, and Dakota Oyate peoples.