We have a Canadian crisis. This crisis has been occurring for at least 30 years according to the data collected. It has claimed over 580 women and girls’ lives. This crisis isn’t cancer, or HIV, or AIDS, though those are also unacceptable deaths. This crisis involves the disappearance or murder of someone’s, mother, daughter or sister. Never heard of this? You are not alone and that’s part of the tragedy of this crisis.
There are 582 Aboriginal women’s names entered into the Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) missing and murdered database. According to their report entitled “What Their Stories Tell Us: Research findings from the Sisters in Spirit campaign”, 115 women and girls are still missing.
Aboriginal women experience violence at rates above that of other women. Violence against Aboriginal women has at its roots the combined historical, systemic violence of colonialism, sexism, racism, poverty and exclusion. It is because of these entrenched pillars of oppression that you have not heard of this constant crisis of abuse, violence and murder experienced by our sisters in indigenous communities. That is why the Sisters in Spirit initiative was started by NWAC in 2005, to track the missing and murdered and to educate the public, police and policy makers on the seriousness of this issue.
George Brown College has over 300 Aboriginal students a year. There is an Aboriginal collection in St. James learning resource centre; Aboriginal courses that meet general elective requirements and Aboriginal students’ resources and support. The Sahkitcheway Aboriginal students’ Centre is located in room 562D at St. James campus.
Vigils are held across Canada every year on Oct. 4 to honour, commemorate and to demand action in the name of the women, girls and their families. This year the Native Women’s Resource Centre hosted this event in Allan Gardens.
In late June the centre enlisted 21 members of their community to paint a mural with five vignettes that was eight feet high and 700 feet long, titled, ”All My Relations”; it was a stunning addition to the atmosphere of the vigil.
The vigil speakers told us their experiences of loss, frustration and anger. We heard about Caroline Sinclair, who was found murdered in Winnipeg earlier this year. Alex spoke of his sister, Sonya, also murdered. Mike spoke about the need for men to be involved and to “walk in balance”. West Wind spoke about violence in language. How the word ‘squaw’ is synonymous with hate and violence and how it is a bastardization of the word Anishinaabekwe, or Ojibwe woman and how we must resist racist language and reclaim the word kwe, or woman.
This year, the Sisters in Spirit vigil had political support from Caroline Bennett, Liberal Aboriginal affairs critic, who “wants justice and prevention”. She called for “some kind of search, as if a white woman was missing” when Aboriginal women and girls go missing and “resources for healing” for the families.
Another voice at the vigil was city counsellor, Kristyn Wong-Tam, who said to “fight for the truth. We can never stop fighting.” It was Wong-Tam who during her speech said that this was a “Canadian crisis” and urged us to keep being angry and keep loving because “anger and love equals action that can’t be stopped.”
Now that you know about the crisis what will you do about it?
