OTTAWA — First Nations leaders are calling on the RCMP to apologize and are demanding a federal inquiry after a CBC report said the police service spied on Indigenous political leaders in the 1960s and beyond.

CBC Indigenous uncovered some 6,000 pages of internal RCMP documents and found the RCMP was monitoring Indigenous political activity as early as 1968.

Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Grand Chief Kyra Wilson says the RCMP should apologize directly to community members, on their own territories, by the end of the year.

She says the stories uncovered violations of Indigenous rights and show the government treated them as people to monitor rather than respect.

Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak says the reporting confirms what communities have suspected for decades, and calls the RCMP’s actions a violation of civil and political rights.

She says while an apology is needed, the federal government also needs to launch a public inquiry into systemic racism in federal policing.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 16, 2026.

Alessia Passafiume, The Canadian Press