The Legacy of Hope Foundation Congratulates Mary Simon, First Indigenous Governor General of Canada

(Ottawa, ON) July 7, 2021 – The Legacy of Hope Foundation (LHF) would like to extend our sincerest congratulations to Mary Simon, on her recent appointment as the first Inuk Governor General of Canada. As the 30th Governor General of Canada, Simon will be the Crown’s representative in Canada, and will preside over a host of ceremonial parliamentary duties, including granting royal assent to bills before they can become law.

Simon, whose Inuk name is Ningiukudluk or ᓂᖏᐅᑲdᓗᒃ, was born in Kuujjuaq, a coastal village located along Ungava Bay in northeastern Quebec. Raised with a strong traditional influence and fluent in Inuktitut, Simon has been a passionate advocate for the rights of Indigenous Peoples throughout her career. She was president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami and the president of Makivik Corporation throughout its negotiation of the first Canadian land claim agreement. She has served as Canada’s ambassador to Denmark and played a pivotal role in the creation of the Arctic Council. Simon was president of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference, which represents 180,000 Inuit across 3 different nations, and she later became Canada’s first ambassador for circumpolar affairs. Simon is the founder of the Arctic Children and Youth Foundation, which helps support young people within Nunavut. Simon is an Officer of the Order of Canada, has received the National Aboriginal Achievement Award, as well as the Governor General’s Northern Award, and is an inductee within the International Women’s Hall of Fame, and has received many other honours.

“We at the LHF are delighted that Mary Simon, an accomplished and tireless advocate for Indigenous Peoples throughout Canada, has been appointed to such a pivotal role,” said Teresa Edwards, Executive Director, and In-House Legal Counsel at the LHF. She continued, “While the appointment is an important first step by the Government of Canada, it must be followed up by substantive action that holds the Government accountable to Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit, and Metis), and allows us to move away from imposed colonial decision-making and to addressing discrimination and injustice. Given Simon’s incredible years of service, we are optimistic that she will work with Survivors and the Legacy of Hope Foundation to acknowledge Canada’s historical and ongoing colonial impacts, and address the pervasive discrimination and injustice that continues to impact Indigenous Peoples.”

The LHF is pleased to be celebrating their 20-year anniversary as a national, Indigenous-led, charitable organization that continues to promote healing and Reconciliation in Canada. The LHF’s goal is to educate and raise awareness about the history and existing intergenerational impacts of the Residential and Day School System, Sixties Scoop, and other colonial acts of oppression perpetrated against Indigenous Peoples. The LHF has more than 20 exhibitions that can be borrowed for free. One of our latest exhibitions, Escaping Residential Schools: Running for their Lives, is now available through an animated virtual video, along with the Survivors’ Oral Testimonies. The exhibition examines the experience of Survivors of the Residential School System and raises awareness about the impacts it has had upon our communities. For more information on the project, please visit: https://legacyofhope.ca/project/escapingrs/ The LHF is working on making its other exhibitions also available online. The LHF has also developed curriculum for all ages, from K-12 to adults along with Activity Guides, and Workshops and Training aimed at educating Canadians about Indigenous history, and the shared history of Residential and Day Schools, the Sixties Scoop, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, etc. The LHF works to develop empathy and understanding so as to eliminate racism and foster Reconciliation in Canada.