We have nowhere safe to go

Opinion

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This article was published 17/12/2014 (3415 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

We must ask hard questions of ourselves individually and as a society when women and girls disappear or are murdered. How can we prevent this? What are the solutions?

We need a co-ordinated effort to understand this endemic problem and commit to viable solutions.

Aboriginal Affairs Minister Bernard Valcourt continues to reject an inquiry, distilling the problem to the “lack of respect for women and girls on reserves.” It is true we face violence in our own communities. We are not exempt from the violence women face around the world, and we have inherited a colonial legacy of paternalism and patriarchy that continues to manifest in many of our community and family structures.

Outside of our communities, we risk further systematic violence. Notable examples include the heinous targeting of indigenous women by Shawn Lamb, Robert Pickton and Bobby Jack Fowler. These are the serial killers who have been caught so far. There are no doubt more.

We have nowhere safe to go as indigenous women.

Everyone deserves to be, and feel, safe. That’s why we need to inquire into the complex web of social issues that result in this tragedy.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s position is the disappearance and murder of indigenous women and girls should be viewed as “crimes” rather than as evidence of a disturbing “sociological phenomenon.” This impoverished understanding misses the long-established connections between crime and social phenomena. Poverty, lack of housing, dislocation, loss of identity and systemic discrimination are among the root causes of violence against indigenous women.

The Harper government suggests nearly 50 reports already outline all of the issues and potential solutions to the problem of murdered and missing indigenous women and girls (MMIWG). However, recent research shows very few recommendations have been implemented and commitment to action is sorely lacking.

Consensus is building around the need for action on MMIWG, including the #WeCare campaign burning up social media. However, action must be coupled with further inquiry into the web of vulnerabilities faced by indigenous women and girls. Formal inquiries can serve as a forum for committing to action that prevents harm and identifying resources to meaningfully address those harms.

Following the release of the Brian Sinclair inquest report last week, Health Minister Sharon Blady struck an implementation team that will report back with short-, medium- and long-term implementation strategies.

The recent inquiry into the death of Phoenix Sinclair confirmed more than 80 per cent of Manitoba children in care are aboriginal and that “they are taken from their homes in far greater numbers, not because they are aboriginal, but because they are living in far worse circumstances than other children. They are poor because their parents are poor.” Commissioner Ted Hughes concluded “we all must play our part.”

We need an innovative process on MMIWG that reflects indigenous ways of resolving conflict. Some of this work might be done through institutions such as the new National Research Centre for Truth and Reconciliation at the University of Manitoba.

This process must reflect indigenous values and principles, what we call inaakonigewin (law) in the Anishinaabemowin language. These principles inform the responsibilities that we have toward one another and they must guide the process of truth telling. While we may not achieve our values perfectly, they continue to underlie our systems of thought and world views. They are at the heart of the ultimate objective — for us all to live mino-bimaadiiziiwin (a good life).

This process should allow us to remember those who have been victimized and to work toward ensuring there will be no more victims. It’s time for Manitobans to lead not only in thought or intention but in our commitment to act.

We can learn from the stories of individuals, families, communities and nations that are living this tragedy. This is an opportunity to cast aside colonialism, patriarchy and discrimination in favour of advancing indigenous women’s safety and health.

The Manitoba government has called for a national inquiry and supported the idea of a national roundtable. Family Services Minister Kerri Irvin-Ross has said “It’s all of our responsibility.” If there will be no federal inquiry, the government of Manitoba should take the lead by supporting a made-in-Manitoba, indigenous process of inquiry.

We must find ways to live without fear, shame and hurt. That responsibility belongs to all of us.

 

Aimée Craft is an assistant professor of law at the University of Manitoba.