This is the first blog since Hillary Bonnell’s body was found. She was just one of hundreds of missing Native women in Canada today. Most are never found, and some appear to have vanished out of sight.
Sadly, the growing reality of the situation is that Canada does not care.
Being a Native woman in Canada means living in a dangerous demographic. Not only will a significant number go missing, but their absence won’t make anyone who can make a difference flinch or think twice. To them, these women are simply one less Indian they have to worry about.
I went back to my reserve recently. My auntie Sheila was in town and was headed back home, so I tagged along with her. I thought that a blog about missing Native women was long overdue, so I was in the right car.
She is involved with the Quebec Native Women, an “organization governed by a board of directors representing the nations in Quebec.” She biked across Canada in 2006 with two other members of our community to raise awareness on family violence and violence against women in Aboriginal communities.
She told me that a disproportionate number of missing and murdered women in Canada are Aboriginal. After researching old news and videos on Youtube, I found this statistic: “Aboriginal women make up 60 per cent of the long-term unsolved cases of missing women in Saskatchewan” (taken from a Youtube video documentary on a murdered young Native woman, Amber Redman). That same video also says that “young Aboriginal women are five times more likely than other women of the same age to die as the result of violence.”
Right now, there are over 500 missing and murdered Aboriginal women in Canada. What grim number needs to be reached before the government feels it necessary to take notice? When will Canada see Native women as human enough to give a damn? When will Canada see that a human rights violation is happening in our own backyard?
Stolen Spirit (linked above), a three part video about Amber Redman can be found on Youtube, and I recommend watching it. For more information on the missing women, visit www.missingnativewomen.org/index.htm, The Native Women’s Association of Canada, and Quebec Native Women Inc.
Visit these websites, get to know the facts and spread the word.
Any thoughts? I am always up for discussion. My email is [email protected], so feel free to email me your thoughts, questions, comments or complaints (put Native Issues in subject box) and I will get back to you as fast as I can.
