In a landslide vote, Kyra Wilson was elected to be the grand chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs. She will represent 63 First Nations across the province.
“I’m just so excited and so happy. I’m so humbled by the amount of support and love I’ve received in the last few days,” Wilson said.
Wilson is the former chief of Long Plain First Nation and has a long history of advocating for Indigenous sovereignty.
There is lots she wants to tackle in this new role.
“I’ve always worked for our children and our families and I’ve always looked at what opportunities I can take on and be a part of and to support our children and families and this was one of those opportunities,” Wilson said.
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Other organizations are also weighing in on Wilson’s election. End Homelessness Winnipeg is looking forward to working with her as AMC has been a longtime ally.
“We recently completed our Street Census and we will have the results in the spring. So we would like to meet with the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs to look at that data, to come up with solutions for urban people that are struggling with housing,” End Homelessness Winnipeg CEO Jason Whitford said.
Premier Wab Kinew also extending his congratulations to Wilson.
“This is good news for all Manitobans because we are going to be able to work together to advance living conditions and economic opportunity for First Nations in Manitoba and of course when that happens, it benefits all of us,” Kinew said.
As for Wilson, she’s ready to hit the ground running.
“Right now, I really need to sit down with our leadership, sit down with our chiefs, councillors, discuss what our plan is going forward. Working together, what does that mean, how we are going to work with all levels of government,” Wilson said.
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