An information session Friday night hosted by Susan Sinclair Consulting allowed families and people affected by missing and murdered Indigenous women to discuss their experiences and the shared ongoing struggles in the community.
The event took place in the Association of Metis, Non & Status Indians Saskatchewan’s building on Avenue F in Saskatoon.
Advocates say most people don’t know what the Indigenous community is living with.
“If you’re an Indigenous woman, you are 12 times more likely to go missing or be murdered than a mainstream person,” said Brian Gallagher, an MMIWG advocate.
“When you break it down regionally… on the Prairie provinces that number jumps to 19 times. Of those three Prairie provinces, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Alberta, the last we heard and it may have changed, I hope, but Saskatchewan is the highest among of all the provinces.”
He goes on to say some policies and systems fail to help Indigenous people.
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“There are silences that are still killing us, there are things that we don’t know,” he said. “There’s still evidence that they can’t release to us, there are so many stories out there that are ought to be told and that silence is part of the reality that is killing us and it’s going to kill other people.”
Families who have lost loved ones keep their memories alive, saying it’s important to honour who they are and advocate for the voice they lost.
“I’ll just continue to do it, because now my voice matters for her, and that’s what I’m going to just keep doing,” Lory Zimmer, an MMIWG advocate said while talking about her daughter.
Speaking about his daughter, Gallagher added, “We honour her every day in one way or another and she honours us in ways we don’t even understand.”
Advocates say people are becoming more aware of the Indigenous community losing their girls and boys, but change is still needed.
“When we’re not working together, things aren’t working real well,” said Charlene Lavallee, Association of Metis, Non & Status Indians Saskatchewan president.
Brian Gallagher says there needs to be communication and advocacy to see change.
“We need to communicate for the chances of success to go up, and this is what we are doing. And again, like I said, we are starting to break the silence, we’re starting to share as much as we can. We’re tired, though.”
Watch above for more on how MMIWG impacts people and families in the Prairie provinces.
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