Media Statement – KIM stands with Indigenous Pharmacy Professionals of Canada and calls for action against Indian Residential School denialism
MEDIA STATEMENT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Treaty One Territory, Winnipeg, MB (September 30, 2026) — Keewatinohk Inniniw Minoayawin Inc. (KIM), a First Nations-led health organization working for and accountable to 23 northern Manitoba First Nations, strongly condemns the racist and hateful acts that disrupted a National Day for Truth and Reconciliation webinar hosted by Indigenous Pharmacy Professionals of Canada (IPPC), led by Executive Director Amy Lamb.
The webinar was intended to create space for learning, reflection, truth-sharing, and meaningful dialogue about reconciliation within the pharmacy profession. Instead, participants were subjected to a coordinated act of racism and hate. Such actions have no place in health care, professional practice, educational spaces, or our communities.
The timing of this attack is particularly troubling. On a day dedicated to honouring Survivors of Indian Residential Schools, remembering the children who never came home, and acknowledging the enduring impacts of colonial policies on First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples, hatred was deliberately used in an attempt to disrupt a conversation grounded in truth, healing, and reconciliation.
This incident also occurs within a broader and deeply concerning climate in which Indian Residential School denialism, the distortion of documented history, and hostility toward Indigenous truth-telling have become increasingly visible.
Just days before the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, individuals associated with a white nationalist group gathered at Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc in an incident that prompted renewed calls from First Nations leadership for governments to respond to Indian Residential School denialism and hate directed toward Survivors and First Nations communities.
These are not harmless debates about history. Indian Residential School denialism seeks to minimize, distort or erase the experiences of Survivors and the documented history of institutions created through Canadian government policy to separate First Nations children from their families, cultures, languages and Nations.
Denialism causes further harm to Survivors, families and Nations. It also contributes to an environment in which anti-Indigenous racism and hatred can be normalized, amplified and directed toward those who continue to carry and share these truths.
KIM stands behind the direction of First Nations leadership calling for Indian Residential School denialism to be addressed as hate and for legislative action to address it.
In July 2026, First Nations-in-Assembly at the Assembly of First Nations Annual General Assembly passed an Emergency Resolution calling on Canada to uphold the truths of Indian Residential School Survivors and Witnesses and to criminalize Indian Residential School denialism as hate speech against First Nations people.
The resolution was introduced by Pimicikamak Cree Nation Chief David Monias, who also serves as Chair of the Keewatinohk Inniniw Okimowin Council (KIOC), and seconded by Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak Grand Chief Garrison Settee. It also called for the establishment of an independent complaints commission to address denialism and hate speech directed at Survivors, families and First Nations.
“There is a difference between difficult conversations and deliberate attempts to erase the truth,” said Michelle Monkman, CEO of KIM. “Indian Residential School Survivors have carried these truths for generations, often at enormous personal cost. They should not now be expected to defend their experiences against hatred and denial.
“First Nations leadership has been clear that denialism causes harm and requires meaningful action. As a First Nations-led health organization accountable to our Nations, KIM has a responsibility to stand behind that direction and to challenge racism and denialism wherever they occur. When denialism is used to promote hate, intimidate Survivors, or silence Indigenous voices, there must be accountability. Truth is not optional in reconciliation.”
Health professionals and health organizations have a particular responsibility in this work. Indigenous Peoples continue to experience racism within health systems, and reconciliation cannot be separated from the responsibility to create environments where Indigenous people are respected, believed, safe, and treated with dignity.
Professional and educational spaces must be places where racism is actively challenged — not places where Indigenous people are again required to defend their humanity, their experiences, or their history.
“One of the most important lessons I have learned through the work of IPPC is that reconciliation is a shared responsibility,” said Cara McGurry, First Nations Pharmacist with KIM. “The work does not rest on the shoulders of Indigenous Peoples alone, nor on any one person, community, or organization. Today’s events remind us why that responsibility belongs to all of us.”
KIM stands firmly with Amy Lamb, Indigenous Pharmacy Professionals of Canada, and everyone who participated in this important conversation. We reject racism, hate, Indian Residential School denialism, and attempts to intimidate or silence Indigenous voices.
Truth must remain at the foundation of reconciliation.
As Indigenous leaders reminded Manitobans on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, honouring Survivors requires more than listening to their truths on one day of the year. It means protecting those truths from deliberate distortion and erasure. It means ensuring future generations understand what happened, how these systems affected Indigenous families and communities, and why those impacts continue today.
Attempts to undermine or erase those truths only reinforce the need for this work to continue.
Reconciliation requires more than remembrance. It requires all of us to confront racism when it occurs, challenge denial and misinformation, stand with Survivors, and carry our individual and collective responsibilities forward every day.
KIM remains unwavering in that commitment.
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Media Contact:
KIM Communications
Keewatinohk Inniniw Minoayawin Inc.
Established in 2019, Keewatinohk Inniniw Minoayawin Inc. (KIM) is a First Nations-led and governed health transformation organization working with and on behalf of northern Manitoba First Nations. KIM brings Nations together to strengthen community wellness, advance self-determined health systems, and shape the future of First Nations health.