Justice for Indigenous Women February 14, 2009

I’ve written several pieces about the disproportionate murder and missing cases of Native women in Canada, and each time, I find myself staring at a blank page for at least an hour, or erasing what I’ve written, rewording, and starting over. How do I start this post? How do I write it effectively, and not do injustice? I could easily not write about the hundreds of missing or murdered Native women, because I am non-Native and a Canadian citizen. I am, in short, on the privileged end of the colonial project, even if I am otherwise oppressed.

This is a part of the problem. Here’s a clip from the film, Stolen Sisters. 

Aboriginal women are constantly going missing, being murdered, and the rest of Canada sleeps soundly while mothers, daughters, sisters, aunts, cousins, nieces, friends, are facing incredible amounts of violence disproportionate to non-Native women. The responsibility, then, falls upon Native communities to solve all the problems of Canadian colonialism, while I and the next non-Native sleeps. There are hundreds of unresolved missing and murder cases of Native women in Canada alone. They are mostly forgotten by larger Canadian society, erased, and invisible to mainstream eyes because Indigenous women are racialized as disposable.

Imagine that. An entire community is seen as disposable. 

This has to do with many things, not limited to racism. Colonialism, sexism, racism, classism, and all sorts of interlocking oppressions are at work. As most of us know, the media plays an important role in influencing people’s opinions and attitudes towards each other and society. Most of the missing indigenous women are characterized in the media as drug addicts, alcoholics, and sex workers. While it is true that the genocide of Aboriginal cultures and people has led to disproportionate amounts of violence, alcoholism, and drug abuse, this is not all that these women are. Interestingly (in that ‘oh gawd’ way), as soon as it is revealed that a woman is a sex worker, she apparently no longer has any legitimacy as a human. 

Let’s use a high-profile case as an example.

Open up your favourite search engine. Search for “Robert Pickton.” Open a few of the pages you find, though be warned they are probably going to have some horrific descriptions. Robert Pickton is/was a serial killer in British Columbia who kidnapped and murdered women he thought were disposable. They were almost all sex workers, and they were predominantly Native. Hit CTRL + F (or your Find equivalent) on these pages and look for “indigenous”, “Aboriginal”, or “Native.” How often will you find these words? Next try “sex worker”, “drug”, and even “prostitute.”

I don’t know what you’ll find, but I can make an unimaginative guess. You will find little mention that any of these women are Native. These women, then, are in no way connected to the epidemic of vanishing Indigenous women? All I can ever ask is, why? Why are the lives of Indigenous women seen as less valuable? Particularly Indigenous women? The police and government are generally apathetic about solving and pursuing these cases. Why? Why must these cases stack up?

Tomorrow, like every February 14, No More Silence is organizing cross-country rallies and marches to honour missing and murdered Native women, to bring awareness that this is a major problem, to seek justice for Native women and their communities, and to let Native women know that they are loved and valued.