Tanya Kappo (Cree)[1][2] is an Indigenous rights activist. She is one of the four women who co-founded Idle No More and was briefly the manager of community relations for Canada's National Public Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

Tanya Kappo
Born
EducationUniversity of Manitoba
Known forIdle No More

Early life and education

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Kappo is from the Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation in Treaty 8 Territory and was raised on the Northwestern Alberta Reserve in Sturgeon Lake.[1] Her father was Harold Cardinal, author of The Red Paper. She graduated the University of Manitoba with a J.D. in 2012.[2][3]

Activism and career

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Kappo is one of the four women who co-founded the Idle No More movement in November 2012.[4] Kappo described the impetus for founding the movement as "the legislation facing First Nations, primarily Bill C-45".[3] Kappo co-edited the book The Winter We Danced: Voices From the Past, the Future, and the Idle No More Movement.[5][6]

Kappo was hired as the community relations for the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women in early 2017.[7] She resigned from the inquiry in June 2017.[8][9] In November, 2017, Kappo emceed the symposium, Indigenous Climate Action: An Indigenous led climate change initiative.[10] In 2020 she was working as a lawyer in Alberta.[11][12]

Electoral politics

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In 2006, Kappo ran for the Liberal Party of Canada in the federal election in the riding of Peace River (Alberta). She lost to Conservative candidate Chris Warkentin.[13][14]

2006 Canadian federal election: Peace River
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Conservative Chris Warkentin 27,785 56.97 -8.15 $61,636
Independent Bill Given 9,882 20.26 $101,905
New Democratic Susan Thompson 5,427 11.13 +0.02 $20,836
Liberal Tanya Kappo 4,573 9.38 -9.58 $4,298
Green Zane Lewis 1,102 2.26 -2.53 $0
Total valid votes 48,769 100.00
Total rejected ballots 113 0.23 -0.06
Turnout 48,882 54.7 +1.0

Personal life

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Kappo has three children and lives in Edmonton.[3]

References

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  1. ^ a b Fong, Petti (2013-01-12). "Idle No More: Tanya Kappo had first epiphany as a native in derelict residential school". thestar.com. Retrieved 2020-08-10.
  2. ^ a b "Tanya Kappo [J.D. 2012]". University of Manitoba. 2015. Archived from the original on 2016-04-10. Retrieved 2023-06-09.
  3. ^ a b c "Jan 2013: Full interview: In conversation with Tanya Kappo". Winnipeg Free Press. 2013-01-25. Retrieved 2020-08-10.
  4. ^ Postmedia News (2012-12-21). "'We believe our future is at stake,' Idle-No-More movement founder Tanya Kappo says". National Post. Retrieved 2020-08-10.
  5. ^ Sanyal, Aparna (2014-06-27). "The Winter We Danced reveals the full depth and breadth of Idle No More". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2020-08-10.
  6. ^ Semple, Angela (2015). "Review Essay: On Idle No More". Transmotion. 1 (2). doi:10.22024/UniKent/03/tm.198.
  7. ^ Still, Michael (2017-03-04). "Find out the latest developments in the MMIW national inquiry". The Signal. Retrieved 2020-08-10.
  8. ^ Porter, Jody (2017-06-14). "Tanya Kappo resigns from MMIWG national inquiry staff". CBC. Retrieved 2020-08-10.
  9. ^ APTN National News (2017-06-14). "Tanya Kappo resigns from missing and murdered inquiry". APTN News. Retrieved 2020-08-10.
  10. ^ Copley, John (2017-12-20). "Climate Change Symposium: Solutions will require human intervention". Alberta Native News. Retrieved 2020-08-10.
  11. ^ Sayers, Naomi (2020-03-20). "Indigenous needs during pandemic demand culturally competent response". The Lawyer's Daily. Retrieved 2020-08-10.
  12. ^ King, Hayden; Kappo, Tanya (2016-04-14). "If we want to end indigenous suffering, we must end colonization". Retrieved 2020-08-10.
  13. ^ "Grande Prairie NEWS 2006". discoverthepeacecountry.com. 2006. Retrieved 2020-08-10.
  14. ^ "Voter Information Service - Past results - Peace River (Alberta)". www.elections.ca. Retrieved 2020-08-10.