Canada's first indigenous governor general sworn-in

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau named Mary Simon - a former journalist, ambassador, and Inuit community advocate - to serve as the representative in Canada of its head of state, Queen Elizabeth, earlier this month.

Simon is the first indigenous person to take on the role, created more than 400 years ago to represent the colonial power on North American soil. The change comes as Canada grapples with the legacy of its treatment of indigenous people.

Since May, hundreds of unmarked graves of children have been discovered at former "residential schools," run for indigenous children forcibly separated from their families in what a Truth and Reconciliation Commission has called "cultural genocide."

The governor general performs functions such as swearing in governments and formally signing legislation, but is also the commander in chief of the military and can summon or dissolve Parliament.