MISSING & MURDERED INDIGENOUS WOMEN & GIRLS
Indigenous Culture
“We don’t want our sisters to be forgotten and so we come today in honour of their memory, in honour of their lives and to ask for justice, and to continue to ask for people to watch over our sisters where they may be”
- Jody Leon, Splatsin and Lake Babine Nations
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It is extremely important to examine the indigenous culture surrounding Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG). This is how the people directly affected by this issue are choosing to represent themselves and their response to the problem. There could not be a more “first-hand” source for understanding MMIWG.
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What Are First Nations, Metis, and Inuit people doing?
Creating Art
Click the pictures to read the related articles
Ryerson students worked with Indigenous communities and artists to create an exhibit about MMIWG and two women in particluar, Patricia Carpenter and Sonya Cywink
The family of an Indigenous woman killed in 1975 used a local snow-building contest to create a memorial for MMIWG, gaining attention online and in various news outlets
How can art help in resistance?
Protesting
Why is protesting so important?
These are just some of the hundreds of art pieces created by First Nations, Métis, and Inuit people created for the MMIWG movement. Hover over the images to discover more.
The REDress project involves hanging red dresses from trees, buildings, or in an art gallery to represent the missing and murdered women. It was created by Métis artist Jaime Black and is now a Canada-wide exhibit.
The Faceless Dolls project is a travelling exhibit created in 2012 to highlight how “faceless” the missing and murdered Indigenous women have become. It was created by Cree artist and activist Gloria Larocque.
The Walking with Our Sisters projects is an art project consisting of moccasin tops sent in from around the globe to commemorate MMIWG in a travelling memorial. Each pair represents a woman, and the fact that they are incomplete shoes represents lives cut short. It is run by a collective of primarily FNMI people.
What is the history of MMIWG Protests?
The first candlelight vigil held for missing and murdered indigenous women and girls was put on by Sisters in Spirit, a “research, education, and policy initiative driven and led by Indigenous women” in 2004 (NWAC para. 3). Since then, the issue has steadily gained attention and people have come together physically to raise awareness with increasing frequency. Protests took off around 2009 and 2010, when Sisters in Spirit released documents of their findings on MMIWG. Since 2010, protests have been regular and important. Protests are usually held and led by indigenous people, and they range from dozens of people in small towns to hundreds of people in prominent locations in Toronto (Dehaas).
Protests are an invaluable tool for spreading awareness, pressuring leaders, and allowing marginalized voices to be heard. Nearly every social movement in history has utilized some form of physical assembly to further their cause. Protesting can disrupt daily activities for other citizens, can serve as discussion points on news coverage, and allow decision makers to see the scale of the issue.The more people aware of the movement, the more pressure there is on the government to uphold the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women with pertinence and respect.
Engaging in Government
First Nations, Metis, and Inuit people have been heavily involved with the political sphere in order to bring the Inquiry to the Government of Canada.
'Um it, it isn’t really high on our radar, to be honest ... Our ministers will continue to dialogue with those who are concerned about this.'
- Prime Minister Stephen Harper, when asked about a National Inquiry (Kappo para. 8)
In 2016, the Government of Canada announced and launched the Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. Although there were and continue to be concerns about specific facets of the Inquiry, for many it is a step in the right direction.
Indigenous government involvement has taken Canada from this...
To this...
And Much More
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"President Lavell-Harvard with KAIROS Canada Rep Ed Bianchi, Amnesty International Canada Secretary-General Alex Neve, Canadian Labour Congress President Hassan Yussuff, Indigenous Peoples’ Assembly of Canada National Chief Dwight Dorey, and Women of the Métis Nation President Melanie Omeniho."
"(Left to right) Taylor, Anderson, and Bill address the media after Yukon's MMIW roundtable two weeks ago."
"The board of Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada poses Feb. 12 for a group photo at the end of their four-day pre-inquiry MMIW consultation meeting in Ottawa last week. Pauktuutit will team up with Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami and Tungasuvvingat Inuit to ensure the federal government's upcoming inquiry on missing and murdered Indigenous women takes Inuit-specific issues into account."
"President Lavell-Harvard with KAIROS Canada Rep Ed Bianchi, Amnesty International Canada Secretary-General Alex Neve, Canadian Labour Congress President Hassan Yussuff, Indigenous Peoples’ Assembly of Canada National Chief Dwight Dorey, and Women of the Métis Nation President Melanie Omeniho."
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References
Articles:
NWAC. “Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls: A National Crisis.” Native Women’s Association of Canada https://www.nwac.ca/mmiwg/. Accessed 28 March 2017.
Dehaas, Josh. “Hundreds gather at Toronto rally to honour missing, murdered aboriginal women.” CTV News Toronto, 14 February 2015, web.
Kappo, Tanya. “Stephen Harper’s comments on missing, murdered aboriginal women show ‘lack of respect’.” CBC News, 19 December 2014, http://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/stephen-harper-s-comments-on-missing-murdered-aboriginal-women-show-lack-of-respect-1.2879154. Accessed 22 March 2017.
Photos/Videos:
1 fnmisummerlit. “Drawing of First Nations Medicine Wheel, n.d.” FNMI Summer Literacy Twitter, Twitter, 18 March 2017, https://twitter.com/fnmisummerlit
2 Ducharme, Steve. “Candles surrounding a quilliq at Paktuutit meeting, 2016.” Nunatsiaq Online, Nortext Publishing Corporation, 18 March 2017, http://www.nunatsiaqonline.ca/stories/article/65674inuit-steered_inquiry_key_to_mmiw_pauktuutit_says/
3 Ure, Susanne. “Activists stand vigil on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, 4 October 2012.” Amnesty International Canada, 18 March 2017, http://www.amnesty.ca/blog/the-need-for-accurate-and-comprehensive-statistics-on-missing-and-murdered-indigenous-women-and
4 Hunt, Corrine. “Vancouver 2010 Medal Design.” The Mint, Royal Canadian Mind, 24 March 2017, http://www.mint.ca/store/mint/about-the-mint/-the-design-4500008
5 Erskine, Michael. “Portion of Shades of Our Sisters Exhibit, 2017.” The Manitoulin Express, Manitoulin Publishing Ltd., http://www.manitoulin.ca/2017/03/01/shades-sisters-celebrates-lives-behind-statistics/
6 vanKampen, Stephanie. “Three snow sculptures are memorial for missing and murdered indigenous women, 2017.” CBC News, CBC/Radio-Canada, 18 March 2017, http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/missing-murdered-indigenous-women-girls-inquiry-snow-sculpture-1.3991641
7 Golosky-Johnston, Shayne. “Red dresses blanketed the UAlberta campus as part of the REDress Project, 2012.” Work of Arts, University of Alberta, 18 March 2017, https://www.woablog.com/2014/03/student-voices-aboriginal-womens-rights/
8 Hill, Jen. “Each palm-sized doll represents ‘a fallen sister, mother, aunt’, 2016.” Maclean’s, Rogers Media, 19 March 2017, http://www.macleans.ca/education/honouring-missing-indigenous-women-one-doll-at-a-time/
9 Walking With Our Sisters. “Portion of Walking with our sisters exhibit, n.d.” Walking with our sisters, 19 March 2017, http://walkingwithoursisters.ca/about/our-sisters/
10 “Men’s fire protest for MMIW October 4 2014” YouTube, uploaded by Two Row Times, 4 October 2014, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQQKz-_TNXk
11 “Missing & Murdered Indigenous women MMIW March 2015 in Montreal 00012” YouTube, uploaded by Robin Edgar, 16 February 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGpPmkNs-Lc
12 Helston, Charlotte. “Meagan Louis, Emily Wilson and Jody Leon join other community members drumming and singing outside the Vernon Courthouse Feb, 14 2017.” Infonews.ca, InfoTel News Ltd, 19 March 2017,http://infotel.ca/newsitem/vernon-rally-draws-attention-to-missing-and-murdered-indigenous-women/it39670
13 Chartrand, Fred. “NWAC Press Conference, August 3, 2016.” Native Women’s Association of Canada, 20 March 2017, https://www.nwac.ca/2016/08/press-release-government-of-canada-officially-launches-national-inquiry-into-missing-and-murdered-indigenous-women-and-girls-mmiwg/
14 Kucharuk, Tim. “Taylor, Anderson, and Bill address the media after Yukon’s MMIW roundtable, 2016.” The Rush CKRW 96.1 FM, RushFM & Aiir, 20 March 2017, http://www.ckrw.com/news/local-news/yukon-at-national-mmiw-roundtable/
15 Government of Canada. “Indigenous and Northern Affairs minister speaks Aug. 3 at the launch of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, 2016.” Nunatsiaq Online, Nortext Publishing Corporation, 20 March 2017. http://www.nunatsiaqonline.ca/stories/article/65674ottawa_promises_an_unflinching_mmiwg_inquiry/
16 My92.1. “Community groups meet in Regina to discuss Inquiry into MMIW, 2016.” My92.1, Harvard Broadcasting, 20 March 2017, http://www.my921.ca/syn/343/58398/58398
17 Wyld, Adrian. “AFN National Chief Perry Bellegarde adjusts a blanket presented to PM Justin Trudeau, 2015.” TheStar.com, Toronto Star Newspapers Ltd, 20 March 2017, https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2015/12/08/trudeau-commits-to-nation-to-nation-relationship-with-first-nations.html
18 Bell, Jim. “Board of Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada, 2016.” Nunatsiaq Online, Nortext Publishing Corporation, 20 March 2017, http://www.nunatsiaqonline.ca/stories/article/65674sentences_for_male_abusers_too_lenient_some_inuit_women_say/
19 Berry, John. “Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada, n.d.” ThoughtCo, About Inc., 22 March 2016, https://www.thoughtco.com/prime-minister-stephen-harper-508133
20 “Details of MMIW Inquiry announced” YouTube, uploaded by The National, 3 August 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQeKxGXfWrs
21 Ball, David P. “Pamela Palmater, head of Ryerson’s Indigenous Governance Program, n.d.” Media Mornings/Democracy North, 22 March 2017, https://w2media.org/2012/08/20/w2-media-mornings-mon-aug-20/
22 Bateman, Tom. “Gwich’in Runner Brad First, better known by the moniker Caribou Legs, 2016.” Winnipeg Free Press, 22 March 2017, http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/cross-canada-run-touts-fitness-plight-of-indigenous-388344132.html
23 Mrs Universe. “Ashley Callingbull, 2015.” Indian Country Media Network, Indian Country Today Media Network, 22 March 2017, https://indiancountrymedianetwork.com/culture/arts-entertainment/go-ashley-callingbull-cree-beauty-reps-canada-and-indian-country-in-belarus/