Manitoba Pipestone - January 2015

Assault on girl renews calls for public inquiry

Rinelle Harper, surrounded by her family, was honoured in a drumming ceremony on the opening day of the Special Chiefs Assembly in Winnipeg on Dec. 9. Harper, 16, from Garden Hill First Nation, was assaulted and left unconscious near the Assiniboine River in Winnipeg on Nov. 8. Justin James Hudson, 20, and a second male, 17, are charged with attempted murder, aggravated sexual assault and sexual assault with a weapon. Harper called for an end to violence and spoke out in support of the need for a national inquiry on missing and murdered Aboriginal women and girls. She said, “I ask that everyone here remember a few simple words: love, kindness, respect and forgiveness.” Earlier, Assembly of First Nations Alberta Regional Chief Cameron Alexis commended the Winnipeg police for their efforts. Said Alexis, “We must all stand together to condemn these senseless acts of violence, particularly by our own people. We must stop hurting one another, we must end the pattern.”

The Winnipeg Art Gallery is presenting Baker Lake Carvings until March 8, 2015. This is a collection of Inuit works in stone. “The works in this exhibition come from the WAG’s premier collection of contemporary Inuit art, the largest of its kind in the world with over 13,000 pieces,” said Dr. Stephen Borys, WAG director and CEO and the exhibition curator. “Popular with adults and school groups of all ages, showcasing the WAG’s Inuit art collection is paramount as we develop our new Inuit Art Centre.” Baker Lake Carvings features the work of 12 Baker Lake artists, whose careers span the last five decades, the earliest piece from 1960 and the most recent from 2002. Solitary figures and family groups along with hunting and domestic activities dominate the themes. The carvings are bold in their sculptural gestures, minimal in form, compact, unpolished, and filled with the images and stories of the people and the land.

The Government of Manitoba and the Manitoba Métis Federation are partnering for the first time to build affordable homes for Métis families across the province. A groundbreaking ceremony was held Nov. 12 at 132 Hallet St. to mark the beginning of construction of three new homes under the partnership.  The partnership is made possible by a five-year, $5.5-million commitment from the provincial government to assist in the new construction of high-quality, affordable housing for Métis families. Manitoba Housing has approved up to $710,000 for the development of the three new homes at 132 Hallet St.  Families will be able to move in when construction is completed in the spring of 2015. The three homes, each approximately 1,000 square feet with three bedrooms, will be built where only one house stood before.

A new report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives says racism plays a role in preventing Aboriginal people from finding housing in Winnipeg. The report, released mid-December, says Aboriginals are among the most likely to experience homelessness or live in expensive, overcrowded or poor-quality housing in the city. “The shortfall of housing and poor housing conditions force many Aboriginal people to choose between bad housing in their home communities and insecure and unaffordable housing in cities like Winnipeg,” writes Josh Brandon, a housing researcher with the CCPA in Manitoba, in a document related to the report. The report also notes that the high costs of housing are not offset by the availability of subsidized housing. The report, entitled Moving to the City: Housing and Aboriginal Migration to Winnipeg, makes 16 recommendations in boosting access to social housing, making more support available to people moving to the city, and increasing financial resources. The Eagle Urban Transition Centre, which helps people find housing, employment and services in the city, collaborated on the report.