No Place for Domestic Terrorists – SCO Grand Chief
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 08, 2021
ANISHINAABE AND DAKOTA TERRITORY, MB — The Southern Chiefs’ Organization (SCO) fully supports the growing call for an outright ban of the Proud Boys in Canada, and a call for the international right-wing extremist group with roots in Canada to be designated a terrorist organization.
“The deadly storming of the United States Capitol building by white supremacists this week has painfully shown that overt racism and hatred are very much alive and well on Turtle Island,” said SCO Grand Chief Jerry Daniels. “There is absolutely no place for this kind of terrorism”
The call to designate the Proud Boys a terrorist organization comes after a mob of Donald Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol building on Wednesday, in a brazen attempt to disrupt the House’s certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s election victory. Several prominent right-wing extremist groups took part in Wednesday’s attack, including members of the Proud Boys. To date, five people, including a Washington-based peace officer, died as a result of that attack.
“First Nation people are all too familiar with being subjected to this kind of hatred and the deadly consequences that come with it,” remarked Grand Chief Daniels. “Colonial white supremacy nearly led to the end of our peoples centuries ago. You only need look at the recent attack on our Mi’kmaq relatives and their livelihoods on the east coast or the violence that our people face on a daily basis here in Manitoba. We must all come together to condemn all forms of racism and to do everything we can to put a stop to organizations such as the Proud Boys.”
The federal NDP have started a petition calling for the Proud Boys to be officially banned and that their recent attack on the U.S. capitol must be seen as an act of domestic terrorism.
“Anyone who believes what happened in the United States could never happen here, is painfully misinformed and naïve,” concluded Grand Chief Daniels. “I strongly encourage all Canadians to sign this petition and stand up for what it right and just.”
NDP leader Jagmeet Singh’s petition can be found and signed here.
The Southern Chiefs’ Organization represents 34 First Nations and more than 80,000 citizens in what is now called southern Manitoba. SCO is an independent political organization that protects, preserves, promotes, and enhances First Nations peoples’ inherent rights, languages, customs, and traditions through the application and implementation of the spirit and intent of the Treaty-making process.
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For Media Inquiries:
Vic Savino, Communications Officer, Southern Chiefs’ Organization
Winnipeg Sub-Office: (204) 946-1869 | Email: Media@scoinc.mb.ca
For PDF of release: SCO Media Release – Ban of Proud Boys