Cathy Merrick Elected As the First Female leader in the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs

In almost thirty-five years of history, a female will lead the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, and many are proud and looking forward to the new achievements that she will accomplish. Cathay Merrick was the candidate with the most votes, earning thirty-seven votes out of fifty-nine in the election process.

“I will work hard for our people. I will work hard for the small communities that think they don’t have a voice. I will work hard for our nations to be represented in the assembly,” said Grand Chief Cathy Merrick.

Cathy Merrick was embraced by many of her supporters and family members after she was announced as the election’s winner. She commented on how she got very emotional and how she is very thankful for all the support. “I just put my head down. I gave thanks to the creator for putting me where I needed to be to be able to lead our chiefs with their support,” Cathy Merrick added.

What is impressive and unique is that she became the first woman to lead the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs. With her hard work and people’s honest support, she became the Grand Chief. “I’m so honoured that the chiefs believed in me to be their leader, to be the first woman chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs … I will do them proud with the work that I want to do.” Cathy Merrick said.

Cathy Merrick mentioned that her background as a health adviser will help her condition the modern problems and that one of her priorities is to be able to make good health care accessible for everyone.

Sources:

• https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2022/10/26/first-nations-chiefs-in-manitoba-expected-to-vote-in-new-leader-of-advocacy-group.html
• https://manitobachiefs.com/assembly-of-manitoba-chiefs-announce-elections-results-for-grand-chief/

– Halla Alhamed, U Multicultural

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of U Multicultural.