In last appearance as Cree leader, Matthew Coon Come appeals for respect of Indigenous rights

Matthew Coon Come used his last public appearance as leader ofQuebec's Cree Nation to issue a moving plea for the government to ensure basic human rights for Indigenous people.

Speaking at aprovincial government inquiry into Indigenous relations, which he helped spearhead,the outgoing Grand Chief of the Grand Council of theCreessaid he is worried by how routine discriminationis in Quebec.

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''The discriminationvisited daily on Indigenous people so robs them of their dignity and self-respect, that some beginto believe they deserve no better,'' said Coon Come, who is stepping downafter 40 years of public life.

He said some Indigenous communities are worse off than many developing world countries. He notedincarcerationrates in Indigenous communitiesare among the highest in the world, and that Indigenouschildren are more likely to be victims of sexual assault than to graduate from high school.

Repairing the past

Coon Come also used his testimony tounderlinethe need for Indigenous people to tell their stories of abuse.

''There can be no reconciliation until the victims are heard,''he said.

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The Cree leader shared his own memoriesof being taken from his home inMistissini, Que. to a residential school in Ontario at the age of five or six.

He said RCMP officers went intothe isolated town and flew off with all the children, not for the purpose of education but primarily ''to break their link to their culture and their identity.''

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''Imagine me filling a form saying what do you want to be when you grow up,'' Coon Come said.

When he wrote he wanted to be a hunter, like his father, he was told that was not a profession.

''But the land is still the largest employer of my people today. My father still lives off the land. They didn't take that away,'' he said.

Overcrowding a major obstacleto peace

Coon Come said many of the issues within Cree communities derive from overcrowding, which affects 20% of households.

He says the absence of women's shelters and social programs often forces Creepeople to head towards urban centres, where they risk homelessness and abuse.

The city of Val-d'Or, where the inquiryis taking place, has a significant Indigenous population from nearby Algonquin and Cree communities.

'Given its human cost, inaction is not an option.'Matthew Coon Come, Grand Chief of the Grand Council of theCrees

Coon Come expressed his hope that the inquiry would shed light on the 2015allegations that Indigeneouswomen suffered abuseat the hands of provincial police officers.

He says training for Indigenous police officers, and alternative resources that can create bridges between law enforcement and Indigenous people, are urgently needed.

''Given its human cost, inaction is not an option,'' he said as he concluded his speech.