Mr. Speaker, on Sunday, International Women's Day, we honour the strength, courage, and spirit of women everywhere. As an Indigenous woman, and as many Indigenous women, we grew up learning that we are the strongest when we help each other. Our elders teach us when we give our time, our support, and our kindness, we gain something important in return.
This year's theme, Give to Gain, is a reminder of that lesson. To the young women and the girls across the Northwest Territories, you matter. You carry the strength of your families, your ancestors. You carry languages, stories, traditions, that are powerful and important. Your dreams and goals are worth following. When you give encouragement to a young woman, you help build her confidence. When you share what you know, you help your community grow. When you take care of yourself, you show others that they can take care of themselves too. These are always ways of giving and each one helps us gain pride, courage, and stronger connection to who you are.
Today, we honour women who came before us: our mothers, our grandmothers, our aunties, knowledge-keepers, and community leaders. They faced many challenges, but they kept going. Their strength lives inside of all of us.
I'd also like to thank my own grandmother Esther Semmler, my great-grandmothers Agnes Semmler and Winnie Cockney, and many other strong women in my community that were able to give me the support that I needed, teach me the lessons that I needed to learn, and help me mold into the person that I am today.
As you move forward, remember this: You are capable, you are worthy, and you have a place in this world. Keep learning, keep trying, keep supporting one another. When you rise, our whole North rises with you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.