On November 23, 2010, a contingent of women from Sisters and Brothers in Solidarity and Red Power United met with Grand Chief of Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) Stan Beardy and members of NAN to bring forth a letter to the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) Chief Shawn Atleo.
“This letter is being presented to you with good spirits and open hearts to ask for your and the Assembly’s assistance and support in advocating for solutions to the issue of over *600 disappeared First Nations women in Canada who’s spirits call out for recognition and justice. (*We recognize that the number of missing and murdered Indigenous women is probably much higher).
We feel that it is unacceptable there have so many disappearances and deaths over the years and that this trend has been allowed to continue unabated without action.
Therefore we support NWAC in their call for an immediate restoration of Sisters in Spirit funding and the establishment of an independent, public commission of inquiry into the missing and murdered Indigenous women in Canada.” (A complete copy of this letter can be found at the bottom of this article)
We were happily informed that Grand Chief Beardy presented our letter to National Chief Shawn Atleo on Tuesday in front of the Ontario Chiefs Assembly as well as the news that a resolution was passed on the floor on Thursday November 25, 2010, regarding Sisters in Spirit, supporting Native Women’s Association of Canada and Ontario Native Women’s Association and demanding a public inquiry into the murdered and missing Aboriginal women.
We were also informed of a meeting between National Chief Atleo and NWAC President Jeanette Corbiere-Lavel as they have agreed to work together on a joint campaign. On November 23, they announced:
“The AFN continues to advocate strongly for action that will ensure the safety of Aboriginal women across Canada and support for the families of missing and murdered Aboriginal women.” “This must be a priority for the government and all Canadians. I have stood with NWAC at vigils and in meetings with the premiers and territorial leaders to call for action, as have members of the AFN Women’s Council. Any initiatives on this important matter must be done in collaboration with Aboriginal and women’s groups, and include the voices of families and communities across Canada — something the Sisters in Spirit campaign was successful in doing,” said AFN National Chief Shawn Atleo.
You can see the full release here: AFN and NWAC Call for Canada to Work with Aboriginal and Women’s Groups to End Violence Against Indigenous Women.
This is great movement forward.
As background: on Friday Oct. 29, 2010, the Federal government announced the end of (by lack of funding) the Sisters in Spirit (SIS) program – disappearing the program just as women disappear.
The announcement was dumped into the Friday afternoon news cycle, just as was the Federal government’s announcement that it had agreed to ratify the UN Declaration for the Rights of Indigenous Peoples [and may I note the announcement was made by a woman, Conservative MP Rona Ambrose]. You read more background on cancelling Sisters in Spirit here: Activist Communique: Killing Sisters in Spirit
The Conservative government defended its decision to cancel the Sisters in Spirit program by saying it is now time for “action,” in a letter signed by two cabinet ministers and released to APTN National News.
In the letter dated November 24, 2010, signed by Justice Minister Rob Nicholson and Status of Women Minister Rona Ambrose and addressed to Jeanette Corbiere-Lavell, it reads “The Sisters in Spirit research and awareness project has accomplished much of what it was intended to do. It is time to move to action, by taking the research and implementing it on the streets,” “We would also like to reassure you that the ability of NWAC to continue to use the Sisters in Spirit name or to conduct further research using other funding sources is not in doubt.”
Responding to criticism the government has received regarding the cancelling of the SIS program from NWAC (including criticism that the cancelling was sudden and without prior notice), the letter reads, “”These criticisms have been more disconcerting as we spoke to you prior to the announcement to explain details…We recall your words at this time being ‘this is a long time coming, but worth the wait.'”
Instead, the government letter trumpets the creation of a government national strategy that will in the future include the promise (and we all know how much currency a government promises carries) of $10 million for a national police support centre for missing persons and unidentified remains. You can read more about the announcement here and the November 9, 2010, press release response by NWAC here.
I have to point out here that the government’s action looks just as bad as the government’s inaction regarding bringing justice to murdered and missing Indigenous women and stopping the cycle of violence by treating the roots of the problem.
Simply throwing more money at the same racist police system that is an integral part of that problem isn’t going to bring justice.
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