Remembering MMIWG

Ann Davidson

After the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) produced their final report, entitled Reclaiming Power and Place, members of the Truth and Reconciliation Community Bobcaygeon met on four occasions in 2019 (under the guidance of Barb Cameron, an Associate Professor in the Department of Politics at York University and research member of the Centre of Feminist Research) to discuss the findings and Calls to Justice.

Close to 1200 Indigenous women and girls were reported murdered or missing between 1980 and 2012 according to the RCMP’s 2014 final report Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women: A National Operational Review. It is highly probable that this number is understated as suggested in the MMIWG
report: “There is still not a complete understanding of the numbers of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA* people…”; ¹ What is clear is that while the number of non-Indigenous women who were victims of homicide decreased from 1980 to 2015, the number of Indigenous women who were victims of homicide increased from 9% of all female homicides in 1980 to 24% in 2015. ² This rate of homicide of Indigenous woman and girls has continued at the rate of 3 deaths a month from 2016 to 2019 even during the mandate of the National Inquiry. ³

My connection to learning the truth about the horrors of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls lies simply with the circumstance that I was born female. For that reason alone, I have experienced being devalued, sexually harassed, discriminated against and my voice discounted at one
time or another, in all realms of my life. AND, I have also experienced white privilege in a white colonial culture. So, my experience of oppression is a mere fraction of the oppression experienced by Indigenous women and girls.

I have learned that Anishinaabekwe are the protectors of water and the givers of life. They are sacred. Their roles are essential for our existence on this planet. Yet, too many Indigenous women and girls’ lives have been senselessly stolen as a direct result of colonization; and we, as a society are poorer as a result, having been deprived of their gifts. Those no longer with us were mothers, grandmothers, aunties, cousins, spouses, daughters, and nieces. Their friends and families live with unimaginable grief and many are still dealing with ongoing violence, racism, and discrimination. Remarkably, resilience still thrives among Indigenous women and girls in the face of this ongoing genocide. We need to honour and respect all Indigenous women, girls, two-spirited and gender diverse people: value their wisdom and restore their historic leadership roles if we, as a species are going to survive the planetary crises overwhelming us today.

My quilt square is intended to remind us of the fragility of our universe (the sun, the moon and planet Earth intertwined in an unknowable universe), the necessity for interdependence, and the profound urgency for renewed respect towards Indigenous women and girls.

Ann Davidson
Member, Truth and Reconciliation Community Bobcaygeon
June 2020

*Two-spirited, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transsexual, Queer, Questioning, Intersex and Asexual People

1 As found in Jorge Barrera CBC News “Report is the culmination of the $92M national inquiry into murdered and
missing Indigenous women and girls” Posted: May 31, 2019.
2 Mahony, Tina Hotton; Jacob, Joanna; Hobson, Heather (June 6, 2017). Women and the Criminal Justice System
(PDF) (Report). Women in Canada: A Gender-based Statistical Report. Statistics Canada. p. 24. ISSN 1719-4407
3 Jorge Barrera CBC News “MMIWG cases continued at same rate even after national inquiry began, data shows”