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News Release: Advocacy Groups Object to Stalling by B.C. Since Conclusion of Missing Women Commission of Inquiry

Jul 11, 2013 | Battered Women's Support Services, Indigenous Women, Media Advisory, Missing Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls

2013July_CoalitionOpenLetter_logos

(Coast Salish Territory/ Vancouver, B.C.- July 10, 2013) The attached letter is from an informal coalition of 20 community and advocacy groups in response to the recent announcement by former Attorney General Shirley Bond that civil litigation by children of Robert Pickton’s victims may “constrain” its work in responding to the recommendations of the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry, and to the recent resignation of Honourable Steven Point as advocate for the recommendations. The coalition is seeking engagement with newly appointed Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Honourable Suzanne Anton.

By way of background, on April 2, 2012, fourteen groups sent an open letter to Commissioner Oppal advising that they would not be participating in the Policy Forums or Study Commissions aspects of the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry. Many of these groups, plus other supporters, have been meeting as an informal coalition since then to discuss how to move forward in supporting the children and families, and in pursuing justice for the missing and murdered girls and women.

For more information, please contact:
Aboriginal Front Door Society, Mona Woodward, (604) 697-5662
Atira Women’s Resource Society, Janice Abbott, (604) 331-1420
B.C. Civil Liberties Association, Micheal Vonn, (604) 250-6815
BC Native Women’s Association, Barbara Morin, (250) 461-6880
Battered Women’s Support Services, Angela Marie MacDougall, (604) 808-0507
Butterflies in Spirit, Lorelei Williams, (778) 709-6498
Carrier Sekani Tribal Council, Tribal Chair Terry Teegee, (250) 640-3256
Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre, Alice Kendall, (604) 681-8480 ext. 233
Ending Violence Association British Columbia, Beverly Jacobs, (604) 633-2506 ext. 16
February 14th Women’s Memorial March Committee, Lisa Yellow-Quill, (604) 618-1061
Lookout Emergency Aid Society, Karen O’Shannacery, (604) 255-0340 ext. 12
PACE: Providing Alternatives Counselling & Education Society, Ellen Wiebe, ellenwiebe@gmail.com
PHS Community Services Society, Patrick Smith, (604) 779-6837
Pivot Legal Society, Doug King, (778) 898-6349
Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, (250) 490-5314
Union Gospel Mission, Genesa Greening, (604) 506-0845
West Coast LEAF, Laura Track, (604) 684-8772, ext.214
WISH Drop-in Centre Society, Kate Gibson, (604) 720-5517

Honourable Suzanne Anton
Minister of Justice and Attorney General
PO BOX 9044 STN PROV GOVT
Victoria BC, V8W 9E2
Via facsimile: 250 387-6411

July 10, 2013

Dear Attorney General:

Open Letter: Community and Advocacy Groups Strongly Object to Stalling by Province since Conclusion of Missing Women Commission of Inquiry and Set out Requirements for Participation

Congratulations on your appointment to Minister of Justice and Attorney General, we anticipate a strong working relationship with you to advance the critical file of missing and murdered women. We are a coalition of community and advocacy groups who were shut out of the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry (the “Inquiry”). We understand that your June 10 “Mandate Letter” from the Premier states that one of your priorities is to “consider implementation of the recommendations of the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry.” However, prior to your appointment and shortly after the election, your predecessor announced that civil litigation by children of Robert Pickton’s victims may constrain the government’s work in responding to the recommendations of the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry, and that Xwĕ lī qwĕl tĕl (the Honourable Steven Point) resigned as advocate for their implementation. We are frustrated and offended by the suggestion that civil litigation by families will constrain the government’s response or stall the work that needs to be done to deal with the ongoing tragedy of violence against women, particularly Indigenous women. If the government truly wishes to make changes in good faith and in the spirit of reconciliation, it should not constrain its actions out of fear that those actions may have an impact on litigation. Such a tactic is not a legal requirement – contrary to the inference that your predecessor appears to have made in her statement that litigation must take precedence over any other process. Rather, it is a defensive move that has already shaken the hope that there might be constructive action taken by the government to protect vulnerable women.

As you know, the undersigned groups were not funded to participate in the Inquiry, and did not participate in the Policy Forums or Study Commission aspects of the Inquiry. We refused to lend the credibility of our respective organizations’ names and expertise to the Inquiry, which could only be described as a deeply flawed and illegitimate process. For decades, family members of missing women, grassroots women’s organizations in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver (DTES), community groups and Indigenous and public leaders, have incessantly called for a full public inquiry into the missing women of the DTES and the Highway of Tears. We were forced to withdraw due to denial of a just process, uneven funding for applicants granted standing, discrimination against women and Indigenous groups, and violations of international human rights standards. We were deeply troubled by the extremely narrow and restrictive terms of reference and the imposed tight timelines, and continued to demand that all applicants who were given standing be provincially funded, as recommended by Commissioner Oppal. The Commission lost all credibility among Indigenous, sex work, human rights and women’s organizations that work with and are comprised of the very women most affected by the issues this Inquiry was charged with investigating.

The litigation does not prevent the government from continuing essential work with impacted families and communities to create tangible solutions to the tragedy of violence against women that continues to unfold. Former Attorney General Shirley Bond’s statement that the work may be “constrained” unfairly places the blame for the government’s own inaction on the families involved in the litigation, who are seeking justice for the deaths of their loved ones. The families of the missing and murdered women must absolutely not be made into scapegoats for the government’s lack of progress.

Since the conclusion of the deeply flawed Inquiry, and the release of a 1500-page report by Commissioner Wally Oppal in December, 2012, the Province has been extremely slow in taking action implementing recommendations from the report, despite the glaring urgency for real and substantial change to be made on the ground in order to prevent further violence and to pursue justice for the missing and murdered women. We acknowledge that the immediate undertaking of the government to open the WISH Drop-In Centre over night with annualized funding of $750,000 was a critical and positive step; however, we cannot understand why, given the forced vulnerability to violence on the Highway of Tears, that the second immediate measure recommended by Commissioner Oppal to develop and implement an enhanced public transit system to provide a safer travel option connecting the Northern capital and Northern communities, particularly along Highway 16 (the Highway of Tears), was not implemented.

Members of the Coalition met with the Honourable Steven Point twice to discuss his role as “champion” to provide advice to the government as it implements the recommendations, and as Chair of a new Minister’s Advisory Committee on the Safety and Security of Vulnerable Women. Mr. Point indicated to us that he would be stepping down after getting the process up and running, with the recommendation that a woman should chair the committee. He did not state that this was related to any litigation, even though the coalition met with him on the morning of May 14, just days before his resignation was announced. We feel extremely betrayed by this sudden shift, which was made without any consultation or engagement with the families or with impacted community and advocacy groups. Despite our skepticism about the Commission and our previous exclusion, summarized above, we participated in these meetings with Mr. Point in good faith, with a number of our members considering how to engage constructively in that process. The government’s announcement has, once again, damaged the relationship between BC, the families of the victims (who spoke for themselves about their disappointment after the announcement), and stakeholder groups.

Recommendations Not Implemented: Upon review of the 63 formal recommendations in Commissioner Oppal’s report, which was released approximately six months ago, we are extremely concerned that the Province has begun work on only two of the recommendations, now apparently stalled out with the resignation of Mr. Point:

12.1 That Provincial Government appoint an independent advisor to serve as champion for the implementation of the Commission’s recommendations. This appointment should take effect within 12 weeks of release of the report.
12.2 That the independent advisor work collaboratively with representatives of Aboriginal communities, the DTES, and the victims’ families in the implementation process.
Given that Mr. Point was appointed in December 2012, we strongly object to the fact that none of the other recommendations have begun to be considered or implemented, and we are offended with the absence of justice for our missing and murdered women. Approximately six months after the release of the MWCI final report and recommendations, we ask whether the government thoroughly reviewed the report as committed on December 17.We call on the newly re-elected government – as a whole – to prioritize the issue of missing and murdered women, and to work with the families and community organizations to make real change. We know that the Premier has spoken of a strong commitment to government serving the needs of families. We expect the Premier and the government to understand that it is impossible to focus on creating jobs and building a strong economy without equally attending to the pursuit of justice for the most marginalized people and families in the Province.Necessary Conditions to Implement Recommendations: The Inquiry process was flawed from the beginning, and we were extremely concerned with, among other shortcomings: limitations of the terms of reference; no lawyers for organizations and community members who represent crucial perspectives; lack of witness protection; delayed, incomplete disclosure; impossible timelines; and limited witnesses. The failed Inquiry, far from assisting Indigenous women and women from the Downtown Eastside, ironically reinforced their marginalization. Gender and sexual violence against girls and women continues in Downtown Eastside Vancouver unabated. The Missing Women’s Commission of Inquiry missed an opportunity to respond to this critical social issue through recommending funding for a range of gender and sexual violence support services and gender and sexual violence prevention activities. We advise that if the Province of British Columbia is going to be successful in implementing the recommendations of the Inquiry:
• The Province must work collaboratively and directly with families and impacted community groups to implement recommendations and genuinely take action to make real change on the ground for vulnerable women, and not make unilateral decisions.
• We suggest a focus on key recommendations, determined in cooperation with the families and impacted community groups, and giving urgent priority to those which would direct and provide assistance to the families and to seeking justice for the missing and murdered women.
• There must be adequate funding from the Province to implement the recommendations.
• The proposed Minister’s Advisory Committee on the Safety and Security of Vulnerable Women, if established, must be large enough to allow for adequate representatives from the groups involved, and must include elder advisors as full members. The proposed Committee must allow the people most affected to appoint who sits on the Committee from their respective groups, rather than allowing the Minister with discretionary powers to make appointments. We are confident this will create a stronger and more effective committee.
• In addition to the fact that recommendations 12.1 and 12.2 are currently not even being implemented given the resignation of Mr. Point, the Province must take into consideration that the independent advisor would be most effective if it is a woman, given the extremely sensitive and gender-based nature of this work. Further, we object to the appointment of an independent advisor to serve as “champion” because we are concerned that this would mean the independent advisor would be bound to support all the recommendations even if s/he – or the Committee – did not agree with all of them, effectively taking away any independence.
• The Province must commit to a public, independent annual report on the situation of missing and murdered women in British Columbia, and on implementation of the Commissioner’s recommendations. We strongly urge you to ensure that the recommendations do not get put aside and ignored, as the majority of the recommendations did coming out of the Frank Paul Inquiry.
• In order to address the gaps and eliminate the critical and devastating issues of violence against Indigenous girls and women, intersecting and deeply rooted factors including colonialism, racism, and extreme conditions of poverty must be examined. We remind you that in Canada, Indigenous women are five times more likely than other women to die as a result of violence, and that this problem is a national and international crisis. We absolutely refuse to accept the racist notion concerning the normativity of violence that many Indigenous girls and women experience on a regular basis.
Coalition Committed to Pursuing a National Inquiry and International Investigation: In December 2011, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women announced that it was initiating an investigation of Canada with respect to disappearances and murders of Indigenous women and girls. Given the failures of the British Columbian and Canadian governments to effectively address the human rights crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, including the social and economic conditions that make Indigenous women and girls more vulnerable to violence in the first place, our organizations will dedicate what limited resources we can offer to working with the United Nations to facilitate their investigations and fact-finding processes, in order to ensure that Canada is held internationally accountable for these ongoing human rights violations.Canada has been criticized by the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and, in 2012, by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination because of the inadequacies in its law and practice respecting the prevention, investigation, prosecution and punishment of violence against women, particularly Aboriginal women. The high levels of violence experienced by Indigenous women, as well as the hundreds of missing and murdered Indigenous women across the country are evidence of Canada’s failure to meet its international legal obligations to respect, protect and fulfill the fundamental human rights of women. To date, Canada has not made an effective response to these serious and significant findings by expert human rights bodies.We remind you that the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples clearly sets out a framework for states to effectively ensure the rights of Indigenous women:
Article 21(2): States shall take effective measures and, where appropriate, special measures to ensure continuing improvement of their economic and social conditions. Particular attention shall be paid to the rights and special needs of indigenous elders, women, youth, children and persons with disabilities.
Article 22(2): States shall take measures, in conjunction with indigenous peoples, to ensure that indigenous women and children enjoy the full protection and guarantees against all forms of violence and discrimination.
We, the undersigned groups, continue to strongly advocate for a national public inquiry into the hundreds of murders and disappearances of Indigenous women and girls in Canada , to address the service, socio-economic and human rights gaps, and make concrete and specific recommendations to end violence against Indigenous girls and women at a national level.Moving Forward

Although members of this coalition were shut out of the Inquiry process, we continue to meet regularly to discuss how to move forward in order to support the families, and to pursue justice for the missing and murdered women. We are not going anywhere, and we look forward to the opportunity to work with you on this important issue. We will be pursuing justice with or without you, and we certainly hope that you choose to work with us.Minister Anton, it is absolutely imperative that you work collaboratively with the families and impacted communities to make the issue of justice for the missing and murdered women one of your top priorities as Minister of Justice and Attorney General. Given the urgency of this issue, we request a meeting at your earliest convenience so that we can discuss how to move forward in addressing the violence against disadvantaged and marginalized women and girls in British Columbia. Please contact Don Bain, Executive Director at the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, to set up a meeting time (604) 684-0231.Yours truly,
Aboriginal Front Door Society
Amnesty International Canada
Atira Women’s Resource Society
B.C. Assembly of First Nations
B.C. Civil Liberties Association
BC Native Women’s Association
Battered Women’s Support Services
Butterflies in Spirit
Carrier Sekani Tribal Council
Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre
Ending Violence Association British Columbia
February 14th Women’s Memorial March Committee
Lookout Emergency Aid Society
Justice for Girls
PACE: Providing Alternatives Counselling & Education Society
PHS Community Services Society
Pivot Legal Society
Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs
Union Gospel Mission
West Coast LEAF
WISH Drop-In Centre Society

The Heartbeat of Mother of Earth – Aboriginal Women’s Drum Making Workshop

Feb 19, 2013 | Battered Women's Support Services, Events, Indigenous Women

by Terriea Harris, BWSS Aboriginal Women’s Outreach Counsellor

Drum is a voice, a prayer to Spirit, is the voice of the Earth coming through to speak of its heart. Drumming connects us to our Creator, connecting our heart to the heartbeat of the Earth. It is a way to connect one’s spirit with the Great Spirit.

 

“The spirits are with me and I feel even stronger when I drum and sing.”

Drum is a voice, a prayer to Spirit, is the voice of the Earth coming through to speak of its heart

For years, our teachings by elder woman were passed down from one generation to the next orally or by using one’s voice, which has maintained the importance of our identity. Drumming played a vital role in passing on these teaching and traditions to new generations as it accompanied to those oral histories and stories.

“Everything about the drum and sound of the drums is a great medicine as we all unite.”

 

verything about the drum and sound of the drums is a great medicine as we all unite

Aboriginal Women had voices and were revered in many traditional communities. With the Colonization, women would lose everything from the traditional way of life, their status in their communities, their children to residential schools, their cultural teachings to the Church and their voice to the patriarchal system. The oppression of colonization on Aboriginal Women aimed to silence them with its practices and acts. They taught men to dominate women or to use force if necessary, then their teachings was put into policy with the enactment of the Indian Act whereby Aboriginal Women could lose their status -and what little rights they had- if they married a non-native man.

 

Drumming has always played a significant role in our history

Drumming has always played a significant role in our history. Some traditional teachings share that men only drum and women will surround the circle in order to balance the female and male energy. Traditionally, women would sing and doing so, was considered a great honour by the men. Today, we, Aboriginal Women create women only drum spaces because of the power of drumming for healing from the effects of Colonization and the impact of trauma. We know that trauma can be very disconnecting and as we journey on our healing process, reconnecting to spirit, self, our culture and our voice is an important part of that process.

“Drumming teaches that wellness can be found in many ways. Healing through songs is so powerful.”

 

Wildflower Women of Turtle Island Drum Grou

At BWSS Aboriginal Women’s Program, every Thursday we are coming together with our sisters at Wildflower Women of Turtle Island Drum Group to support women in their healing process. As we recognize the drum as the strong bond with the Great Spirit,  we organized our first drum Making Workshop to create our personal drum to enhance this spiritual connection with the heartbeat of Mother Earth and so taking back our power.

“Music in all forms is soothing to the soul. Being part of a group in this process is very significant in my healing process”

“I have been a part of the drum group at BWSS. I hope it stays as our youth. Love the experience every week! Powerful!”

Keep posted for our upcoming drum making workshop and join us in our Wildflower Women of Turtle Island Drum Group!

 

The quotes are by women who have participated Wildflower Women of Turtle Island Drum Group and Drum Making Workshops.

Sing Up the Bones

Feb 14, 2013 | Battered Women's Support Services, Indigenous Women

by Cynthia Dewi

The February 14th Annual Women’s Memorial March has long been the most important event of the year for my son and I. It is a gathering and remembering led by the women of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside for their missing and murdered sisters, for whom no proper investigation or proceedings of justice have been served by any level of government. As members of what is well known to be the “poorest postal code” in Canada and a community besieged by the predatorial forces of gentrification, the lives and bodies of these women have been treated for decades as disposable and as collateral by the local authorities. Since 1991, women of the Downtown Eastside have been organizing to memorialize their deaths and disappearances, to keep their mothers, daughters, sisters, aunts, friends, lovers in the realm of public memory. For we are lost when we forget; for readiness for the long struggle comes from the courage of our hearts to break.

This is the first time in many years that my son and I will not be able to attend the March. As a survivor, former resident and worker in the Downtown Eastside, as a woman, an immigrant residing on occupied lands, a poet and most importantly, as a human being, my heart is preparing to enter the sacred ground at Main and Hastings tomorrow and to walk, and as I walk, to listen to their stories, to howl with their grief, to rejoice in the indestructible strength of memory, spirit, sisterhood and the desire for justice. I send this poem in place of my physical presence, I send this poem as prayer.

Please visit this link for more information about the March, and watch “Survival, Strength, Sisterhood: Power of Women in the Downtown Eastside” this film by organizer, warrior and friend Harsha Walia, with Alejandro Zuluaga, at

 

 

Singing Up the Bones

~ in honor of the missing and murdered women of the Downtown Eastside, Vancouver, Unceded and Occupied Coast Salish Territories ~

we are called to the wind / our throat

unleashes / robe feather bannock

our bodies / beneath / the heat

of the drum

there is a war on our lives / a war

on our lives it looks like / pressed

suits and kevlar / double-decker

hearts / vintage / everything

is plunder / police-manned / rooftops

siege / of eagle and her / mercy we

come to bless / corners / soul’s

rain-bitten alleys / the blood-

thirst in husks of tongue / we / who wait

all our lives / to be / safe

in the quilts of our names / our dance

lightning / our breath / forbidden

street in death-row / city / no more

fallen / no more graves / in air sawed

by silence / skin the sun / sing

the drums that raise / the dead

 

This article was re-blogged from cynthiadewioka.wordpress.com

February 14th in Toronto – Ceremony as an Act of Sovereignty

Feb 11, 2013 | Battered Women's Support Services, Indigenous Women, Missing Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, Missing Women

February 14th in Toronto – Ceremony as an Act of Sovereignty

by Audrey Huntley

Audrey is of mixed settler (German/Scottish/Irish) and Indigenous (Anishnawbe) ancestry

No More Silence, a group founded in 2004 of allies and Indigenous women that aims to develop an inter/national network to support the work being done by activists, academics, researchers, agencies and communities to stop the murders and disappearances of Indigenous women, held Toronto’s 1st Annual February 14th Memorial for Missing and Murdered women in 2006. The Picton trial had just begun a month earlier and we had an urgent need to express our solidarity with the community of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside and the family members of the women killed on the farm.

Our first call out stated: “On February 14th we will come together in solidarity with the women who started this vigil 15 years ago in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, and with the marches and rallies that will be taking place across this land. We stand in defense of our lives and to demonstrate against the complicity of the state in the ongoing genocide of Indigenous women and the impunity of state institutions and actors (police, RCMP, coroners’ offices, the courts, and an indifferent federal government) that prevents justice for all Indigenous peoples. “

We choose to come together at police headquarters in order to highlight the impunity that Canada affords killers of poor and marginalized women – women not deemed worthy of state protection and Indigenous women targets of the genocidal policies inherent to a settler state. We do not ask for the state’s permission in doing so and instead honour the sovereignty of the Indigenous peoples that have shared the caretaking responsibilities of this land for thousands of years. Family members are given the opportunity to share and Wanda Whitebird (Bear Clan and member of the Mi’kmag Nation) leads the community in a strawberry and water ceremony. No More Silence chooses to practice ceremony in honouring our missing sisters both as an act of love for those who are gone and those who remain behind to mourn as well as an assertion of sovereignty. It is the group’s understanding that settler violence against Indigenous women is inherent to ongoing colonization and land theft. Indigenous women who are at the centre of our communities have always presented an obstacle to the colonial project as evidenced currently in their leadership of Idle No More.

Coming together as allies and Indigenous women No More Silence seeks to practice a decolonizing solidarity that we believe will be fundamental in shifting the power dynamics governing this land. This is why we look to ancient wisdoms such as the teachings of the Three Sisters in shaping how we work together for a better future – one that will honour all our relations and protect our mother – the land.

~ The Three Sisters ~

Once, Native people of this land were starving.

Then Three Sky Sisters came to live with them: Corn, Squash and Bean

Corn stood tall and straight in the fields around the village. Squash laid herself at Corn’s feet and protected her sister by keeping the soil moist. The third Sister, Bean, could make her own nourishment from the soil. But she was so weak and thin she could not support herself. So corn supported Bean as she grew up towards the sun, and soon they were all growing strongly together.

The people learned not only to plant the Three Sisters in the same soil, but also to work together and support each other.


Eight years later in 2013 No More Silence is joined by the Native Youth Sexual Health Network, Sistering and Camp Sis in our organizing. NaMeRes (Native Men’s Residence) staff will provide the food, cook and serve the feast following the ceremony.

Numerous Toronto organizations and agencies have endorsed the event including: Native Women’s Resource Centre, Anduhyaun Native Women’s Shelter, Aboriginal Student Association at York (ASAY), Ontario Aboriginal HIV Strategy, Ontario Federation of Labour, International Women’s Day Toronto Committee, Muskrat Magazine, Toronto Rape Crisis Centre/Multicultural Women Against Rape (TTRC/MWAR), Gathering Weavers, Christian Peacemaker Teams- Aboriginal Justice Team, Canadian Chiapanecas Justice for Women, Maggie’s Toronto Sex Workers Action Project, Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP), Metro Action Committee Against Violence Against Women and Children (METRAC), Indigenous Sovereignty and Solidarity Network, The Redwood Shelter, CUPE local 1281, Women and Gender Studies Institute at U of T (WGSI), International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network (IJAN), International Socialists, Health for All, Toronto New Socialists, Noone Is Illegal (NOII), Communist Party of Canada, Centre for Women and Trans at U of T CWTP, Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid, OPIRG Toronto and Students against Israeli Apartheid U of T, Educators for Peace and Justice (EPJ) & Rank and File Education Workers of Toronto (REWT), Canadian Coalition Against the Death Penalty, Rising Tide, United Jewish People’s Order-Toronto and the UJPO Social Justice Committee, Elementary School Teachers of Toronto (ETT), Sam Ginden Chair in Social Justice and Democracy Ryerson University.

Photographs by John Bonnar, Blogger and Podcaster at Rabble.ca

Sixteen cities and communities are now confirmed for Feb 14th Women’s Memorial Marches

National Co-ordination

Battered Women’s Support Services supports ‘Idle No More’

Dec 28, 2012 | Battered Women's Support Services, Indigenous Women

Battered Women’s Support Services supports ‘Idle No More’

by Brandy Kane, Manager of BWSS Aboriginal Women’s Program

Colonization and colonial relationship has a tremendous impact on Indigenous people, which perpetuate the injustice through legislation and policies aimed at ‘civilizing’ Indigenous people. Our rights, our lands and our spirits have been attacked by the colonization. This colonial structure has also maintained the patriarchal ideologies and perpetuated the gendered violence against Indigenous women through its racist and sexist policies while it’s been promoting the privilege of men.

BWSS and BWSS Aboriginal Women’s Program support ‘Idle No More’. We were at the ’Idle No More’ rally on December 23rd and December 27th in Vancouver. It is amazing to see all the people across Canada and internationally, supporting Idle No More movement, which was started by four Aboriginal women who stand for Indigenous rights and environmental justice. We’ll continue to support ‘Idle No More’ through social media and attending upcoming events.

Acknowledging the harm that Bill C-45 will have has woken up Indigenous people and the larger society and we are saying no more to colonial domination. We aren’t sitting idle anymore. Bill C-45 affects all the society, our future generations and our environment. Bill C-45 directly makes a lasting impact on the inherent rights to the land of Indigenous people and also the changes in the Navigable Waters Act impacts not only the Aboriginal people, but also all the society as we share our natural water resources for clean drinking water; therefore there must be consultation with Aboriginal leaders and communities to get their consent.

Chief Theresa Spence is a hero and leader as she enters into her 15th day of fasting. We went from having 2.5 million protected lakes and rivers to 159 protected lakes and rivers. All in the name of money. The government disregards the Indigenous rights and open our lands to the benefit of corporations involved in oil pipelines and nuclear energy with Bill C-45. Harper is selling off our resources and making irrevocable changes on our environment. This will make it easier for the pipeline to go through. The government has taken advantage of our people and our land for too long.

The Idle No More is a prophecy that is coming to fruition. Sheelah Mclean, Nina Wilson, Sylvia McAdam, and Jessica Gordon came together and said enough is enough. The women are starting a movement that is waking up the world. Elder, Emil Bell has started her fast in support of Theresa Spence and has requested that all Pipe carriers and Sweat lodge keepers hold ceremonies and pray on January 1st for all those fasting and for Stephen Harper. He needs our prayers too. Theresa Spence is asking to speak with Harper and he hasn’t come to see her. It’s been 15 day’s. His silence speaks volumes. We all need to come together and rally….. and pray. This needs to stop!! For our future generations… for our Mother Earth. We call the government and Prime Minister Stephen Harper to start a process of consultation with Aboriginal communities and environmental groups. Let’s support Chief Theresa Spence and all of other individual and communities using their voice, taking the action and demanding an effective response from Canadian government. We encourage you to join Idle No More rallies, connecting through social media and pray in your own way for all those who are fasting for the cause.

Peace, Love, and Unity.

Brandy Kane, Manager of BWSS Aboriginal Women’s Program

 

Some more information about Idle No More:

I’m in a Life-Threatening Abusive Relationship…With My Government:

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/chelsea-vowel/idle-no-more-first-nations_b_2279415.html

IdleNoMore- Settler Responsibility for Relationship:

#IdleNoMore: Settler Responsibility for Relationship

Idle No More pamphlet ‘Resetting and Restoring the Relationship’ authored
by Taiaiake Alfred and Tobold Rollo:
http://ipsmo.wordpress.com/2012/12/20/idle-no-more-pamphlet/

Decolonization journal has a number of recent pieces by Indigenous writers
including Leanne Simpson, Glen Coulthard, Tara Williamson and others:
http://decolonization.wordpress.com/

Democracy Now interview with Pam Palmater
http://www.democracynow.org/2012/12/26/idle_no_more_indigenous_led_protests

Chief Theresa Spence Interview:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjS721JeuUc&feature=youtu.be

Chief Spence’s message to First Nations Youth:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAZTCRQoGQo&feature=youtu.be

Idle No More Sweeps Canada and Beyond as Aboriginals Say Enough Is Enough
http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/article/idle-no-more-sweeps-canada-and-beyond-aboriginals-say-enough-enough-146516

Guardian piece by Martin Lukacs
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/dec/20/canada-first-nations-new-alliance

Toronto Star: Why Idle No More is gaining strength, and why all Canadians
should care http://is.gd/eOt7zN

Idle No More: Women rising to lead when it’s needed most:
http://rabble.ca/news/2012/12/idle-no-more-global-movement

Naomi Klein in Globe and Mail:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/commentary/as-chief-spence-starves-canadians-awaken-from-idleness-and-remember-their-roots/article6700592/

A concise guide to Canada’s treaties:

http://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/eng/1100100028653/1100100028654

The Aboriginal Women’s Program at BWSS

Nov 22, 2012 | Battered Women's Support Services, BWSS Programs, Indigenous Women

by Brandy Kane

Thunder Eagle Woman

The Aboriginal Women’s Program at Battered Women’s Support Services would like to acknowledge the Coast Salish unceded traditional territories and the people of these territories, the Squamish Nation, the Tsawwassen First Nation, the Musqueam Nation, and the Tsleil-Waututh First Nation.

I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself. My ceremonial name is Thunder Eagle Woman and my colonial name is Brandy Kane. My family comes from Lillooet, which is in St’at’imc territory of British Columbia. It is with great pleasure to announce that I am the new Aboriginal Women’s Program Manager at Battered Women’s Support Services.

We are revamping the Aboriginal Women’s Program by offering direct services through Elders, Talking Circle’s, a Women’s hand drum group, and various ceremonies. Some of these ceremonies are Pipe ceremonies, Sweat Lodge ceremonies, and Grandmother Moon ceremonies. We will continue to offer one on one counselling as well as support groups. We are pleased to announce that this coming January 2013 we will be offering a 16 week “Seeking Safety” group for women experiencing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Substance Misuse issues. By using wholistic practices through traditional medicines and ceremonies, we will be working on healing from violence and trauma, reclaiming our rightful roles as strong Aboriginal women in our community, finding our voices and standing strong in our power.

We practice anti-oppressive and feminist practices through the empowerment of our sister’s and in the educating of our community. Funding for the Aboriginal Women’s Program comes primarily from Ministry of Justice Stopping the Violence. We believe in Indigenous ways of being and thinking through culture and also of following the seven sacred principles. These principles are honesty, generosity, fortitude, respect, humility, courage, and wisdom. Within an empowering and wholistic framework we are able to work in a culturally appropriate manner.

I have just recently moved back home from Ontario after completing my Master of Social Work degree at Wilfred Laurier University (WLU) in the Aboriginal Field of Study. I chose WLU to further my education, as the course-work offered, was almost exclusively immersed in traditional wholistic healing modalities.

I feel confident that my education and past experience in the field will allow me to do this critical work with the women that I serve in the community at large.

My past work experience included eight years of working with women and youth in the field of addiction. I was a Substance Misuse Counsellor at Urban Native Youth Association (UNYA) where I provided one on one counselling, group counselling, workshops on prevention, in both elementary and secondary schools. Other aspects of my position included facilitating educational groups on the effects of alcohol and drugs and, as well, offering ceremonial and cultural programming.

My past employment also included five years at Westminster House, a recovery home for women dealing with substance misuse issues. I found the work to be very fulfilling and gratifying and it has been a stepping-stone to where I find myself today.

I chose the field of social work because my personal journey has brought me to a place of growth and change. I have been on my healing journey for over nine years and working in the helping field has contributed to my wellness. Being a recovering addict and having lived the experience, I am fully aware of the struggles associated with a lifestyle change. Today my life is full with many gifts and living in the pain of addiction has long since left me. I plan to continue working with my sister’s and to encourage healing through wholistic healing practices and ceremonies.

My vision is to assist women to realize their potential and to support them on their healing journey. There are some amazing women who came into my life and helped me on my journey and for this I will always be grateful. I plan to express my appreciation by helping others the best I can. I am also closely connected to spirit and ceremony, which I have witnessed benefit the Aboriginal community when healing from addiction, trauma, and other afflictions related to colonization, assimilation, and the intergenerational effects of residential schools. I have been on my own spiritual path and walking the Sundance way of life for five years now. I am eager to work in a manner that is wholistic, traditional, and in using the knowledge I have gained through Elders and ceremony. It is extremely important that I am a wholistic practitioner using decolonizing and reclaiming practices that I know work for our people.

I would like to thank you for taking the time to read this and to offer you the best of my intentions.

Kukwstumc.

Every Thursday from 6 – 8  pm Wildflower Women of Turtle Island Drum Group

Every Tuesday from 10 am to 12 pm Sister’s Empowerment Talking Circle, starting December 11th

For more information please visit  BWSS Aboriginal Women’s Program page.