The purpose of this account is just to spread awareness of real issues in Canada.
And to encourage all of you to take action. 🫵
This can be done in so many forms. Don't ever think you're not big enough to make changes.
The best thing you can do is expand your knowledge. Learn about the culture surrounding you, right where you live. Learn about the systemic injustices of your neighbors. Learn bout the history of our country.
And then act. Speak out against violence against Indigenous people. Call out hate speech and discriminations, wherever they may occur; in your home, your work, your social settings. Support your local communities.
The refusal by Canada’s High Court to hear a First Nation’s appeal against the decision in New Brunswick establishes a precedent that First Nations can seek compensation for loss of traditional lands, but they will not be able to assert ownership.
WOW. Absolutely fuck them.
The Crown-Indigenous Relations Department says the ruling will inform arguments in other cases, including Cowichan, adding that “private property rights are fundamental.”
What a cute thing to say from the people who stole that fucking land to call it 'private property' in the first fucking place.
A new project from award-winning journalist Connie Walker aims to create an archive of testimonies of abuse at residential schools before th
A new project from award-winning journalist Connie Walker aims to create an archive of testimonies of abuse at residential schools before the accounts are destroyed in September 2027.
"It just made me feel like we should be doing whatever we can to preserve as many survivor accounts as we possibly can," said Walker, who is a member of Okanese First Nation in Saskatchewan.
"There are 38,000 records of survivors that are set to be destroyed … and I think that a lot of people don't know that this is about to happen."
Her Pulitzer Prize-winning podcast Stolen: Surviving St. Michael's looked into her father's experience at a Catholic-run residential school in Duck Lake, Sask., and was a profound experience, according to Walker. She said she hopes the archive will allow people to develop the same understanding of other schools.
nonsense words such as "blorbo" and "skibidi" are outliers and a minuscule minority and thus do not invalidate that statement
UPDATE: my white ass somehow forgot that skibidi toilet is quite literally scat, a musical practice born from jazz so, also AAVE
UPDATE UPDATE: skibidi comes from traditional Romani folk singing and cultural contacts between Romani folks and African-American people heavily influenced scat. While I don't feel like I'm particularly fit to determine whether a series made by a Russian-American man in the 2020's has its roots in one or the other, I think it's important to note skibidi is part of the nonsense words used specifically in said Romani songs, so I guess it's an outlier in the sense that it's taken from another culture than AAVE
The final report from a National Inquiry into the missing and murdered indigenous women in Canada gave these Calls for Justice:
15.1 Speak out against violence against Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA people
15.2 Decolonize by learning the true history of Canada and Indigenous history. Learn and celebrate Indigenous peoples history, cultures, pride and diversity
15.3 Develop knowledge, acknowledge the burden of these human and Indigenous rights violations, and how they impact people.
15.4 Be a strong ally, which means more than just tolerance - actively work to break down barriers and support others
15.5 Confront and speak out against racism, sexism, ignorance, homophobia and transphobia. Encourage others to do the same
15.7 Create time and space for relationships based on respect, embrace differences with kindness, love and respect
15.8 Help hold all governments accountable to act on the Calls for Justice
These were written for all Canadians, but the principles apply to everyone everywhere.
Denounce, Decolonize, Develop knowledge. Learn about your community and those around you. Spread acceptance and inclusion. Actively work towards reconcilliation.
Between 1980 and 2012 the Royal Canadian Mounted Police reported over 1200 missing and murdered indigenous women. Indigenous women's groups say this is inaccurate and that the number is closer to over 4000. Indigenous women in Canada, despite being in their homeland, are 12 times more likely to be murdered or go missing than non indigenous women; they make up almost a quarter of homicide victims in the country.
In December of 2015 the government of Canada announced its plans for a country wide investigation of the missing and murdered indigenous women and girls of Canada. They pledged $53.86 million, for the two year long case, a final report to be received 1 Nov 2018. They officially launched the National Inquiry in September of 2016.
The National Inquiry set out to explore these women's cases in a way that would be comfortable for the survivors and their families. Cases of violence, refering to sexual assault, physical, emotional or other forms of institutional violence, were exppressed in a way respectful to Indigenous practice, while of course abiding by common law. This included things such as including Indigenous legal processes, using conversive language, instead of legal terms to be more comprehensible, and incorporating more unconventional, or “informal” processes for survivors and family members to be able to share. Of which is outlined in Legal path: rules of respectful practice.
Women’s stories were to be collected in the Truth Gathering process. This could be orally, through written work or artistic expression. Incorporated into this process were sharing circles. Customs of sharing circles were incorporated into this process. Sharing circles are a way from Indigenous tradition for people to share their stories. The Truth Gathering Process had three parts to its hearing. Part Ⅰ was the information gathered from the survivors and/or family memebers of the survivors. Part Ⅱ from other entities, meaning organizations, institutes as well as government and police. Part Ⅲ was information delivered from evidence and expert witnesses. Part Ⅲ was delivered through out parts Ⅰ and part Ⅱ.
The inquiry ran into its issues in the process. Three months into the inquiry the Native Women's Association of Canada expressed that the commission failed to keep the families of the victims informed of the progress. A year later the communications director, Michael Hutchinson was fired. Families worried this would delay the inquiry and they were assured it would not. While the organization is catering to the community, they are still not fully respecting them. As the families did not see any improvement, and still continued to ask for better communication and clarity on the inquiry. While actions and effort are being made, there is always room for improvement.
The national inquiry was also accused of excluding missing and murdered indigenous men, boys, trans and 2-spirit people. The commission lead counsel, Susan Vella, responded that while the hearing is open to indigenous men, they will focus on women and girls. Also that they will move to include trans and 2-spirit people. Along with the increased risk of violence Indigenous women find, queer people were also found to be violently victimized around 5 times as much as heterosexuals.
In the end the final report was released 3 Jun 2019, seven months later than the planned date and with a total number of 2386 participants. Including 1484 survivors and family members. That's over a thousand cases of violence against indigenous women examined.
Regarding the findings of the National Inquiry Chief Commissioner, Marion Buller, said, “despite their different circumstances and backgrounds, all of the missing and murdered are connected by economic, social and political marginalization, racism and misogyny woven into the fabric of Canadian society”. The national Inquiry was only part of the ongoing journey of reconciliation. The set up and findings of this investigation was a great step for survivors and family members, letting their voices be heard, and providing some sense of closure, and that should be celebrated. However there were still issues, and there continue to be issues. From the lack of communication during the inquiry to the violence that still lies beyond it. We’ve identified the root causes of these acts of violence, the next step is to change them, no matter how difficult. Hopefully this progression opens way for even more like it.
References
Brant, J. (2020, July 8). Missing and murdered indigenous women and girls in Canada. The Canadian Encyclopedia. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/missing-and-murdered-indigenous-women-and-girls-in-canada
Z, L. (2019, May 29). Home page – final report. MMIWG. https://www.mmiwg-ffada.ca/
"You have taken the land which is rightfully ours. Years from now my people will be forced to live in mobile homes, on reservations. Your people will wear cardigans and drink high balls. We will sell our bracelets by the roadside. You will play golf, and enjoy hot hors d'oeuvres. My people will have pain and degradation. Your people will have stick shifts."
