Leadership from across Canada to Launch National Assembly of Remote Communities

Treaty 6 Territory, Saskatoon, SK – Nishnawbe Aski Nation’s Chiefs Committee on Children Youth and Families will join with counterparts from northern Indigenous communities across Canada next week to celebrate the creation of a collective voice – the National Assembly of Remote Communities (NARC).

This first-ever meeting of allied leadership from remote communities will be co-hosted by Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) First Vice Chief David Prattand Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) Deputy Grand Chief Bobby Narcisse May 31 to June 2, 2022, in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. They will be joined by Elders and leaders from women and youth councils, and representatives of Indigenous child welfare agencies and the Government of Canada.

“Canada has failed our youth and families for decades, but I am encouraged that we now have a healing path forward. The launch of the National Assembly of Remote Communities is an important step on our journey of long-term reform that will be First Nations led, as Treaty and Indigenous rights holders, and based on our inherent authorityto care for our children,” said NAN Deputy Grand Chief Bobby Narcisse. “I look forward to taking this historic step with our brothers and sisters from many Nations.”

“The National Assembly of Remote Communities has been created by First Nations for First Nations,” said FSIN Vice Chief David Pratt. “This Assembly will address the serious funding issues our northern and remote nations face daily and address those areas where investments are critically needed. Our First Nations children are our future, and we need to create a better path forward for them. This is the first step in that process.”

The Assembly will center on three major themes: 1. The Journeys of Remote Communities: Their realities and lived experiences. 2. The Science of Measuring Remoteness: We cannot manage what we do not measure. 3. Community Vulnerabilities Respecting Settlement Payouts: A study and discussion of best practices and safeguards. 

Discussions will include first-hand accounts of the lived experience of remoteness directly from community leadership, knowledge-keepers, and Elders, and the challenges and barriers faced in remote communities.

National Assembly of Remote Communities (NARC)

The National Assembly of Remote Communities was formed in 2021 through the Global Resolution Negotiations in respect of the settlement of outstanding claims against the Government of Canada in the context of child welfare. Regional leadership, in the spirit of a united voice on issues impacting remote Indigenous communities, have united under an assembly of common interest to, for the first time, create a unified voice on issues of unique concern to remote Indigenous communities at the national level.

The mandate of NARC is to ensure that a strong and united voice is heard at the national level in respect of the grossly inadequate factoring for remoteness in the delivery of federal services, and to ensure that appropriate governance around issues of common concern to remote communities takes place. The intent of NARC is to represent an advocacy voice across sectors including child welfare, health, education, and community safety.

Charter members include Nishnawbe Aski Nation, the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations, Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak, and the Alberta and Northwest Territories regions of the Assembly of First Nations.

The Assembly will be held at TCU Place Conference Centre, 35-22nd Street East, Saskatoon, SK.

Nishnawbe Aski Nation represents 49 First Nation communities in James Bay Treaty No. 9 and Ontario portions of Treaty No. 5 – an area covering two thirds of the province of Ontario in Canada.

The Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations represents 74 First Nations in Saskatchewan. The Federation is committed to honouring the spirit and intent of the Treaties, as well as the promotion, protection and implementation of the Treaty promises that were made more than a century ago.

– 30 –

For more information or to coordinate interviews, please contact:

FSIN CommunicationsSam Camplingcommunications@fsin.comsam.campling@fsin.com

NAN CommunicationsMichael HeintzmanCell: 807-621-2790nancomms@nan.camheintzman@nan.ca