National Indigenous Peoples Day message from President Lampe

As we celebrate National Indigenous Peoples Day it is important that we recognize our elders and to thank them for the contributions they have made, and continue to make, in helping other Nunatsiavummiut understand our past so that we can move forward in meeting the challenges that await.

It is also important to remember and to recognize those who have gone before us for helping to shape who we are as a people, and as a society. Labrador Inuit have persisted for thousands of years, through good times and through bad.

The colonial policies and practices of the past attempted to disempower us and strip us of our dignity and our pride; the relocation from Nutak and Hebron tested our resilience to survive and adapt; and the residential school system attempted to divide us, to assimilate us into an unknown culture.

We cannot, and must not, forget the past or hide from the truth. It has made us stronger, more determined and proud of our identity.

The progress we make today and the challenges we overcome will one day be history – a part of the past that shapes the future for our grandchildren and their grandchildren.

By celebrating National Indigenous Peoples Day, we are celebrating our ancestors, ourselves, our place in history, and our future.

I am proud to be a Labrador Inuk, proud of what we have accomplished and excited about what lies ahead.

Message from Nunatsiavut Government President, Johannes Lampe.