More awareness sought for MMIWG2S+

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This article was published 05/10/2023 (1074 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A group of around 30 women and a handful of men gathered on the banks of the Assiniboine River at Dinsdale Park on Wednesday morning to honour the memory of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and two-spirited people.

Golden morning sunshine and stiff winds met the group, which gathered on the National Day of Action for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, Two Spirit, and Gender-Diverse People (MMIWG2S+). They formed a circle to hear elder Vince Tacan speak about the ongoing crisis.

“It’s sad to say that it’s still going on — missing and murdered women and girls. Some are not found, across Canada and the United States,” Tacan said.

Looking around at the group that was assembled, Tacan said it’s important for more men to show up to these types of events to stand in solidarity with Indigenous women and girls, who are much more likely to become victims of violence than their non-Indigenous counterparts.

Indigenous women also make up to 16 per cent of all homicide victims and 11 per cent of missing women, even though the Indigenous population of Canada is only 4.3 per cent, statistics shared by the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs show.

“I wish more men would come and support the women,” Tacan said. “But in reality, there’s also men and boys missing and murdered.”

Indigenous men and boys are six to seven times more likely to be murdered than any other group of individuals in Canada, a number that has been steadily increasing since 2014, according to the Metro Vancouver Indigenous Services Society. In 2022 alone, Indigenous men and boys represented 32 per cent of all missing persons alerts across the country.

Although Tacan said it saddened him to gather every year to bring attention to the MMIWG2S+ crisis, the results of the Tuesday’s provincial election have infused hope into an otherwise dire situation where Indigenous people have felt like their voices have gone unheard.

“A wonderful thing happened yesterday. We have a new premier who is First Nations. Maybe some things will change, but as First Nations, Métis and Inuit people, we’ve got to support Wab Kinew,” Tacan said.

Non-Indigenous people must be made more aware of the crisis of MMIWG2s+, and the role they play in it, Tacan went on to say.

According to Statistics Canada, half of the homicides of Indigenous women are committed by a family member. Of the total solved homicide cases of Indigenous women between 1980 and 2014, 53 per cent were committed by a family member, 26 per cent by an acquaintance and eight per cent by strangers.

After saying a sacred prayer, a drum group began playing and singing a song, and those gathered took up rose petals from a basket and solemnly walked to the river, where they sprinkled the water with the petals, which were carried by the current downstream.

For Jacqueline Goods, the crisis of MMIWG2S+ is one that hits very close to home. She showed up to yesterday morning’s event to show support and solidarity to the missing and murdered women, and to remember a member of her own family.

“My second cousin is part of the statistics in the last year,” Goods said. “This issue is not really going away … it’s a systemic problem that affects every society.”

Goods says there hasn’t been any real change, other than a “bit more” awareness of the issue, since the days Conservative Stephen Harper served as prime minister from 2006 to 2015.

“We need to do more,” she said.

Goods is hopeful that Kinew will keep his promise to search the Prairie Green landfill in Winnipeg for the remains of Marcedes Myran and Morgan Harris, who are believed to have been killed by an alleged serial killer and left there. Kinew vowed to search the landfill if elected premier.

Knowledge keeper Deborah Tacan said she doesn’t really think about politics when it comes to MMIWG2S+ but thinks that Kinew might bring more awareness and action to the issue.

“That’s what this day is for — for the action. What are some things we can do? Bringing awareness is one thing, but what can we do to address it?” she said, adding she hopes more people will show up to next year’s event.

Deborah Tacan is also hoping that Kinew will keep his promise about searching the landfill in Winnipeg.

“I just think to myself, if my girl was there, there’s no way that I could rest,” she said.

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