2005 the Year of First Nations and Metis Women

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Following the lead of the Prince Albert Grand Council (PAGC) and the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations (FSIN) the Saskatchewan government announced on Nov. 29 that 2005 will be the Year of First Nations and Metis Women.

The MLA for Kelvington-Wadina, June Draude, introduced the bill to the legislature with the support of members from the PAGC and FSIN who attended the assembly.

Events leading to this declaration started when the body of Jean Lachance was found near the PAGC office more than a year ago. To date, no one has been convicted in connection with her death.

In response to Lachance's death, a family violence worker at the PAGC Women's Commission (PAGCWC) decided to plan a memorial march in May 2005 in memory of all Aboriginal women who have lost their lives at the hands of violence. Then in early October, Amnesty International released Stolen Sisters: A Human Rights Response to Discrimination and Violence Against Indigenous Women in Canada. Shirley Henderson, chair of the PAGCWC, said that the report gave the commission a lot of concern that nothing was being done to help First Nations women, and that motivated the PAGCWC to put forward a resolution to make 2005 the Year of the First Nations Woman.

Gary Merasty, chief of the PAGC, and his wife joined the women's commission to present the resolution to the FSIN during the Chiefs-in-Assembly meeting held in Swift Current at the end of October, with the chiefs unanimously passing the resolution.

Okanese First Nation Chief Marie Ann Daywalker-Pelletier, chair of FSIN Women's Commission, said she was happy that the FSIN resolution passed.

"The overall leadership, by acknowledging it and supporting such a resolution, has given women now the confidence that violence will not be tolerated," she said, adding that the Amnesty International report confirms what Native women already know.

The report criticizes the Canadian police and justice system for failing to adequately protect Indigenous women, notes the increased threat of violence due to social and economic marginalization and points to evidence that some men are exploiting the vulnerability of Native women to commit brutality against them. Four out of nine women victims profiled as case studies in the report are from Saskatchewan-Shirley Lonethunder, Pamela George, Cynthia Sanderson and Maxine Wapass. The report is part of Amnesty International's worldwide campaign to end violence against Indigenous women.

The FSIN helped Amnesty International develop the report through its Special Investigations Unit, created in February 2000 in response to the death of Earla Brass while in custody in the federally sentenced women's unit at the Saskatchewan Penitentiary and the deaths of Rodney Naistus and Lawrence Wegner, two First Nations men who froze to death near the Saskatoon landfill under suspicious circumstances. Since its creation, the unit has investigated hundreds of complaints of police misconduct and systemic abuse.

The Native Women's Association of Canada (NWAC) and the associated Saskatchewan Aboriginal Women's Circle Corporation also applauded the federation's decision. Both organizations are working on the Sisters in Spirit Campaign, which strives to educate the public about violence against Aboriginal women and girls in Canada, to help victims of that violence and, ultimately, to try to bring the violence to an end.

NWAC president Beverley Jacobs was a lead researcher and consultant for the Amnesty report. She helped gather information on many of the case studies and interviewed police. Unfortunately, it is difficult to find any exact data on violence against Aboriginal women, said Jacobs. "One of the difficulties that we've had is that there are no statistics right now. We're estimating just based on who we've heard from."

Sandi Morin of the PAGCWC said that Saskatchewan desperately needs more women's shelters, especially up North. "They are very isolated and wehear so often about the violence that goes on there. And because they are so isolated, if there is violence that goes on, it's very hard to get them out of the communities, and then the shelters are always full. Even to bring them to Prince Albert, for an example, they're so removed from their families. They have no support systems here. They tend to go back." Language barriers for members of the Cree and Dene nations and the cost of flying victims to shelters in the south are two more reasons why Morin believes Northern Saskatchewan needs more shelters.

Daywalker-Pelletier said she hopes the elevated awareness that will come from the declaration will not only help honour women, but also have an effect on the workplace, making communities seek policies that forbid harassment and lateral violence.

"Sometimes it's not a joke when you're putting down a person. Maybe it's a joke but it's still lateral violence. That we need to understand more, what it is and how do we handle it in our workplaces," she said.

Lateral violence happens when victims turn against each other instead of the oppressor. Often the men who abuse women are victims of violence themselves. "Our partners also need to be acknowledged, that there are resources out there to help them understand their violent behaviour."

Daywalker-Pelletier said plans to mark 2005 as Year of the First Nations Woman are in the works and will include special events, community workshops and other ways to help communities honour their women. The FSIN is also planning a special assembly to address women's issues.

The PAGCWC is organizing a women's empowerment conference in La Ronge and wants to hold abuse awareness workshops in all 26 communities in the grand council area, said Morin.