{"id":102920,"date":"2026-03-23T08:56:17","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T12:56:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/?p=102920"},"modified":"2026-03-23T08:56:17","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T12:56:17","slug":"amanda-lathlin-the-first-first-nations-woman-elected-to-manitobas-legislature-dies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/23\/amanda-lathlin-the-first-first-nations-woman-elected-to-manitobas-legislature-dies\/","title":{"rendered":"Amanda Lathlin, the first First Nations woman elected to Manitoba&#8217;s legislature, dies"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A member of Manitoba&#8217;s government caucus and the first First Nations woman elected to the province&#8217;s legislature has died. The Manitoba NDP Caucus says in a statement Saturday that Amanda Lathlin, who represented the northern riding of The Pas\u2014Kameesak, died at 49 after taking a leave of absence last month due to health issues. The statement says Lathlin was a former band councillor for Opaskwayak Cree Nation and in 2015 became the first First Nations woman ever elected to the legislature. It says she worked to advance legislation extending paid leave for mothers recovering from miscarriages and improving access to sexual assault care in northern communities. A cause of death was not given in the statement. Premier Wab Kinew says Lathlin helped pave the way for other Indigenous women to&#8230; <\/p>\n<div class=\"pmpro\">\n<div class=\"pmpro_card pmpro_content_message\">\n<div class=\"pmpro_card_content\">This content is for Yearly Subscription, Yearly Subscription &#8211; Corporate, Print Subscription Only, and Canada Print and Online members only.<br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?action=register\">Register<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"pmpro_card_actions pmpro_font-medium\">Already a member? <a href=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Ftheturtleislandnews.com%2Findex.php%2F2026%2F03%2F23%2Famanda-lathlin-the-first-first-nations-woman-elected-to-manitobas-legislature-dies%2F\">Log in here<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A member of Manitoba&#8217;s government caucus and the first First Nations woman elected to the province&#8217;s legislature has died. The Manitoba NDP Caucus says in a statement Saturday that Amanda Lathlin, who represented the northern riding of The Pas\u2014Kameesak, died at 49 after taking a leave of absence last month due to health issues. The statement says Lathlin was a former band councillor for Opaskwayak Cree Nation and in 2015 became the first First Nations woman ever elected to the legislature. It says she worked to advance legislation extending paid leave for mothers recovering from miscarriages and improving access to sexual assault care in northern communities. A cause of death was not given in the statement. Premier Wab Kinew says Lathlin helped pave the way for other Indigenous women to... <\/p>\n<div class=\"pmpro\"><div class=\"pmpro_card pmpro_content_message\"><div class=\"pmpro_card_content\">This content is for Yearly Subscription, Yearly Subscription - Corporate, Print Subscription Only, and Canada Print and Online members only.<br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?action=register\">Register<\/a><\/div><div class=\"pmpro_card_actions pmpro_font-medium\">Already a member? <a href=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Ftheturtleislandnews.com%2Findex.php%2F2026%2F03%2F23%2Famanda-lathlin-the-first-first-nations-woman-elected-to-manitobas-legislature-dies%2F\">Log in here<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"author":101363,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-102920","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-national-news","category-ticker","pmpro-level-required","pmpro-level-3","pmpro-level-2","pmpro-level-5","pmpro-level-4","pmpro-level-6","pmpro-level-7","pmpro-no-access"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Amanda Lathlin, the first First Nations woman elected to Manitoba&#039;s legislature, dies - The Turtle Island News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/23\/amanda-lathlin-the-first-first-nations-woman-elected-to-manitobas-legislature-dies\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Amanda Lathlin, the first First Nations woman elected to Manitoba&#039;s legislature, dies - The Turtle Island News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A member of Manitoba&#8217;s government caucus and the first First Nations woman elected to the province&#8217;s legislature has died. The Manitoba NDP Caucus says in a statement Saturday that Amanda Lathlin, who represented the northern riding of The Pas\u2014Kameesak, died at 49 after taking a leave of absence last month due to health issues. The statement says Lathlin was a former band councillor for Opaskwayak Cree Nation and in 2015 became the first First Nations woman ever elected to the legislature. It says she worked to advance legislation extending paid leave for mothers recovering from miscarriages and improving access to sexual assault care in northern communities. A cause of death was not given in the statement. Premier Wab Kinew says Lathlin helped pave the way for other Indigenous women to\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/23\/amanda-lathlin-the-first-first-nations-woman-elected-to-manitobas-legislature-dies\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Turtle Island News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TurtleIslandNews\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-03-23T12:56:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/facebooklogo.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"725\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"483\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Lynda Powless\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@newsattheturtle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@newsattheturtle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Lynda Powless\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/23\\\/amanda-lathlin-the-first-first-nations-woman-elected-to-manitobas-legislature-dies\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/23\\\/amanda-lathlin-the-first-first-nations-woman-elected-to-manitobas-legislature-dies\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Lynda Powless\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7b188fd7503577895ef8b306988cd458\"},\"headline\":\"Amanda Lathlin, the first First Nations woman elected to Manitoba&#8217;s legislature, dies\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-23T12:56:17+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/23\\\/amanda-lathlin-the-first-first-nations-woman-elected-to-manitobas-legislature-dies\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":481,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"National News\",\"ticker\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/23\\\/amanda-lathlin-the-first-first-nations-woman-elected-to-manitobas-legislature-dies\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/23\\\/amanda-lathlin-the-first-first-nations-woman-elected-to-manitobas-legislature-dies\\\/\",\"name\":\"Amanda Lathlin, the first First Nations woman elected to Manitoba's legislature, dies - 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