Artist: Jaime Black, ReDress

October 22
“We are the legacy. Despite the trauma our communities continue to live through, we are capable of addressing the violence against women in our communities. The solution is within us – within our communities.” – Knowledge Keeper Mavis Windsor, a member of the Heiltsuk First Nation of Bella Bella, British Columbia

Settler colonial and gender based violence against Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA are perpetuated by policies and practices of the Canadian state. We will review the impact of Canadian policies through a reading of sections of Reclaiming Power and Place, the final report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Women and Girls.  The Report, composed of testimonies by 2,380 family members, survivors of violence, experts and Knowledge Keepers over two years, centres relationships and and Indigenous recognition of power and place to confront oppression. The documentary by Christina Welsh offers a visual and affective way of learning about the ongoing efforts of women to find the missing and bring justice to the missing and murdered.

Speakers: Butterflies in Spirit, Judith Camacho and Jordyn

Hosts: Khayria Layla, Laura

Readings

1. A Tribe Called Red, Sisters (Music Video)
2. Reclaiming Power and Place: The Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Chapter 1 “Centring Relationships to End Violence”,  Chapter 2, “Indigenous Recognitions of Power and Place” Chapter 4, “Colonization as Gendered Oppression”, Chapter 7 “Confronting Oppression: Right to Security”
3. Christine Welsh, Finding Dawn, NFB Documentary
4. Nason, Dory. “We Hold our Hands Up: On Indigenous women’s love and resistance.” Decolonization: Indigeneity, Education & Society (2013): 10-14.

Presentation – Artist Jaime Black  (Alyssa and Claire)

Further reading

1. Robinson, Margaret. “Two-spirit identity in a time of gender fluidity.” Journal of homosexuality (2020).
2. Culhane, Dara. “Their spirits live within us: Aboriginal women in Downtown Eastside Vancouver emerging into visibility.” American Indian Quarterly 27.3/4 (2003): 593-606.
3. Samira Saramo (2016) Unsettling Spaces: Grassroots Responses to Canada’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women During the Harper Government Years, Comparative American Studies An International Journal, 14:3-4, 204-220