Innu Nation grand chief slams NunatuKavut Community Council at identity summit – The Star

May 15, 2024

OTTAWA – Innu Nation Grand Chief Simon Pokue spoke to other Indigenous leaders at a meeting in Winnipeg on Wednesday about what he calls Indigenous identity fraud by the NunatuKavut Community Council.

The council, which represents some 6,000 people in south and central Labrador, claims to be Inuit. It previously claimed to represent Métis.

At a summit on Indigenous identity hosted by the Manitoba Métis Federation and the Chiefs of Ontario, Pokue said his community knows its territory and culture, but has to be wary of sharing publicly due to organizations like the council. He said such organizations co-opt those stories for their benefit without actually being Indigenous.

“Needing money doesn’t make anyone Indigenous,” he said, adding Canada is supporting the “recolonization” of Indigenous Peoples by backing and working with what he called fraudulent groups.

Read More: https://www.thestar.com/politics/federal/innu-nation-grand-chief-slams-nunatukavut-community-council-at-identity-summit/article_7c2bea55-c828-5a47-bf11-c4488c9601da.html