One year since the release of the final report of the National Inquiry on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, Manitoba Indigenous leaders have made a call for action.
“I hate walking around feeling like a target,” 18-year-old Indigenous artist Ida Bruyere said.
Manitoba’s Southern Chiefs’ Organization asked Bruyere to use one of her paintings as the art for its Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls awareness campaign.
The painting shows an Indigenous woman with a red handprint over her mouth, while a feather dangles from her ear.
“I’ve been followed by cars, even with my friend. I’ve been followed multiple times… it’s just scary,” the Black River First Nation member and soon-to-be-graduating Gordon Bell High School student said.
SCO’s campaign launched Wednesday — exactly a year after the National Inquiry on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls’ final report was released.
Now, Manitoba Indigenous leaders are calling for the federal government to take action to implement the inquiry’s recommendations.
“We’re very disheartened and its again another example of the disconnect that exists between the federal government and this initiative,” said Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Grand Chief Arlen Dumas, while characterizing Ottawa’s slow move on creating an action plan as stalling.
The federal government had promised an action plan by June — it’s been delayed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Ottawa said.
SCO Grand Chief Jerry Daniels was more muted in his criticism of Ottawa — but pointed in his message of the need for action in protecting Indigenous women and girls.
“We could see a bit more motivation on the part of the government, I think they need to put more pressure on institutions of justice, social justice and the justice system itself,” Daniels said.
“Institutions like the police force, the education system, the health-care system, all the institutions that are involved in our society need to be active participants in promoting and creating the kind of culture where you’re going to have young people grow up to be respectful of other human beings, of their relatives.”
Daniels hopes when people see the organization’s new awareness campaign, they see Indigenous women’s contributions to society.
Dumas thinks 365 days is enough time to put together a draft action plan, pandemic notwithstanding.
“It’s very disheartening, I believe that it’s disrespectful to Helen Betty Osborne and Tina Fontaine and the rest of our mothers and sisters that we’ve lost and we need to address that,” Dumas said. “The excuse of the pandemic seems to be thrown around and I believe that that’s disingenuous.”
Bruyere, meanwhile, hopes to be a lawyer someday soon.
“I do want to help, especially with this issue. It’s definitely an honour to contribute a piece of me,” she said of her art piece.
“I want to help in a bigger way… this is kind of a start.”