WINNIPEG – A three-day meeting of the Assembly of First Nations began Tuesday morning with a special ceremony to honour Rinelle Harper.
WATCH LIVE: The Assembly of First Nations live stream of their meetings in Winnipeg.
The teen, who was viciously assaulted and left unconscious near the Assiniboine River in Winnipeg last month, used the opportunity to ask her supporters to call for a national inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women.
Harper has been called a hero for escaping the fate of hundreds of other missing and murdered aboriginal women.
READ MORE: Winnipeg police arrest 2 men for attack on 16-year-old Rinelle Harper
Grand Chief David Harper, who represents northern Manitoba First Nations who are hosting the meeting and who is related to the girl, said many chiefs wanted to meet the 16-year-old.
“I am here to talk about an end to violence against young women,” she said, calling on people to show “love, kindness, respect and forgiveness.”
RELATED: Assembly of First Nations website’s live stream
The chiefs are meeting to elect a new national leader, to debate the organization’s restructuring and to discuss the issue of missing and murdered aboriginal women.
READ MORE: ‘Thank you for saving our granddaughter’: Rinelle Harper’s grandparents
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