National Defence committee  I think it speaks for itself in regard to how indigenous women are usually marginalized and continue to be marginalized even in other institutions. I'm hopeful that indigenous women will not be martyrs anymore, but continue to lead positive, inclusive change. I wish the best for her because I know it's hard being a politician out there for the community.

National Defence committee  Yes.

National Defence committee  Yes.

National Defence committee  Yes.

National Defence committee  I know at least one that's maybe diverse is a powwow. It's a cultural gathering. That's a first step, at least, to go in that direction. Every culture is different across Canada, formerly called Kanata. I wouldn't want to generalize this to all nations. I don't want to upset a lot of elders across the nation here.

National Defence committee  There was a previous discussion that brought forward the point that reserve units are in charge of their own mandate of bodies. I'm hoping that with that consideration the reserve units themselves could emphasize bringing in diversity by hiring indigenous people. I know, though, that we usually have to put the “X” in the box to meet the merit system requirement.

National Defence committee  That is correct, Madam.

National Defence committee  Maybe five, in total. However, most of us were scattered around. We didn't have an cohort established or consider that we needed to unify ourselves. In my under six years of being enlisted in the Canadian Armed Forces, I've maybe only seen four or five successful indigenous women.

National Defence committee  Yes.

National Defence committee  I think a program is a suitable start. Maybe implementing a pilot project would be beneficial to a lot of indigenous young girls and women. I believe that would be a step in the right direction.

National Defence committee  At the present time I don't even think there is data gathered on that specific question. I know this could probably be a good opportunity to gather that data and present it in a diagram, but off the top of my head I don't know.

National Defence committee  I enlisted because both of my elders, all my great-grandparents, unfortunately passed away. Those were the first deaths in our family in over 60 years. During that time I could not comprehend it, and I withdrew from post-secondary institutions and just walked into the recruiting centre and signed up.

National Defence committee  Yes. I feel if the individual or the mentee could choose a mentor of their choice, there would be a long-term commitment to the Canadian Armed Forces.

National Defence committee  Yes, wholeheartedly.

National Defence committee  I was thinking maybe to incorporate a smudge room, and then honorariums for elders. From my perspective, elders have the equivalency of a mayor or higher status, so it's to honour the individual, because they may pass away the following day. Those are little steps that could be incorporated.