In 2002, Amnesty International released its Stolen Sisters report describing how Canadian aboriginal women are 3.5x more likely than non-indigenous women to suffer from domestic violence and sexual assault. In 2007, Saskatchewan reported that 60% of its long-term cases of missing women were indigenous, although indigenous women made up only 6% of its population. By 2009, the Native Women's Association of Canada (NWAC) reported that 520 women had gone missing or been murdered in the last three decades.
Amnesty recommended that a national plan of action be developed to address this violence. This plan has not been developed and Canada and we still don't have a coordinated effort to create one. Instead, there are repeated appeals for a national inquiry to gather more information. During the past decade, the following money has been spent on gathering information:
- $5 million to NWAC for the Sisters in Spirit campaign
- $70 million for the 20-month investigation of the Robert Picton murders of 49 women
- $46 million for the Robert Picton trial
- $8 million for the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry in BC
And why are we continually looking to the federal government for leadership when 40% of indigenous people now live in our cities? Could we not create a coalition amongst provinces and municipalities? NWAC's outstanding Sisters in Spirit report identifies vast differences in police performance across the provinces. Tracking performance improvements would be a useful measurement rather than gathering more information about the continued violence.
Meanwhile, imagiNATIVE has worked with the Arts Council of Canada and artists across Canada to create four digital media works shown to millions of Canadians in subways and offices across the nation...in partnership with Pattison media. Discussions are underway on how to engage young people in the creation of additional works.
