Indigenous leaders from across the Caribbean and Canada called for greater economic empowerment, participation in decision-making, and robust protection of rights at an Indigenous Peoples Forum which opened the Carib-bean Development Bank’s (CDB) 54th Annual Meet-ing yesterday in Ottawa, Canada.
Titled “Catalysing Caribbean-Canada Collaboration on Indigenous Peoples Affairs for Resilient Prosperity,” the forum represents a key step in the Bank’s ongoing efforts to tackle issues impacting the Region’s Indigenous communities and promote their upliftment through cross-national collaboration.
According to a press release from the CDB, the event provided a platform for representatives to advocate for addressing systemic challenges facing their communities. Attendees included political leaders, community elders, and Indigenous rights advocates representing communities such as the Kalinago of Dominica, Garifuna of Belize, and First Nations across Canada.
