Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls - Dear Justin Trudeau

Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada

Government of Canada

Office of the Prime Minister 80 Wellington Street Ottawa, ON K1A 0A2

MMIWG: Creating Educational Awareness for the Public and Sacred Social Institutions for the Indigenous

Dear Justin Trudeau,

I am writing you this letter to state the importance of creating and funding more sacred social institutions in Canada, where loved ones of the missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls can come forward for healing after being a victim of violence or losing a loved one. I believe there would also be benefits to providing educational services to non-Indigenous people in Canada to educate themselves on today’s Indigenous related systemic issues. Reports have shown, there is no justice or closure for the families of the women and/or girls who have gone missing or have been murdered. “Many advocates for missing and murdered Indigenous women say these are exactly the kinds of cases requiring further scrutiny in a national inquiry” (CBC News, 2016, para. 4). By putting the three key approaches developed within the Interim Report into action I believe you will help and encourage Indigenous culture to be prevailed, which is precisely what needs to happen. Using a family-first approach recognizes kinship. Family can be also be beyond blood related relatives. As a Catholic, I refer to my fellow parish members as my brothers and sisters. Referring to each other as brother and sister, acknowledges our heavenly Father. It is similar within the Indigenous culture as well. However, some Indigenous people live off the reserve and still maintain and keep close interpersonal relationships between one another and their culture. Indigenous people who live off the reserves are too experiencing the trauma of losing a loved one. It is important to support and recognize their pain as well. It is crucial for all Canadian citizens to follow frameworks set in place to reconcile between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. We need more scared social institutions that are solely based on the three key approaches stated in the Interim Report throughout Canada, not just within the reserves.

In the early 1870s, Treaties were created to follow in order to live together on this shared land. “Treaties provide a framework for living together and sharing the land Indigenous peoples traditionally occupied. These agreements provide foundations for ongoing co-operation and partnership as we move forward together to advance reconciliation” (Government of Canada, 2018, para. 4). The Comeback by John Ralston Saul gives clear insight on how we are able to come together and act in compliance with the treaties that are established.“Maracle: "For any reconciliation to take place, the party that hurt you has to take part"” (Ralston, 2014, p. 5). In order to co-operate, we have to collectively come together as a society and actively educate ourselves on today’s systematic issues the Indigenous are facing today. Providing free credited and/or non credited online course in a decolonizing approach to the public may become a part of the solution to have more non-Indigenous people to understand, respect and spread awareness on the missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.

Provide social institution’s with foundations that are built around Indigenous culture off reserves. As mentioned, treaties help guide us towards a better co-existence. You yourself Justin Trudeau, and the rest of Canada is known for celebrating Canada’s multicultural diversity. For example; in Downtown Calgary there is an area called Calgary Chinatown filled with Chinese heritage and culture. We need to also be able to provide equal funding for all cities within Canada to create and encourage celebrating the Indigenous culture. However, within those areas we need sacred places for Indigenous families who have endured the loss of a loved one to provide closure and reconciliation. Their voices need to be heard beyond the reserve boundaries. “Families can be traumatized by an event happening to one or more of its members. Even people who did not directly experience the trauma can be impacted by it, especially if they have a close relationship to the individual who experienced the trauma. Communities can also be traumatized when events affect any of its members” (The National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, 2017, pg. 23).

In conclusion, as a non-Indigenous student at Bow Valley College, I would like to see more accessible educational services that bring awareness being able to be provided to the public on today’s Indigenous related systemic issues. While educating the public, in order to pursue and continue reconciliation between non-Indigenous and Indigenous peoples of Canada, we have to be able to provide and fund more social institutions built with Indigenous cultural foundations for Indigenous people residing on and off the reserve. This will give the murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls’ families a platform to be able to share their stories with the public, a safe place to come to for traditional Indigenous healing and the public to be able to witness, celebrate and educate themselves on Indigenous culture within their cities. I hope you take this letter into consideration as we move forward into the future shaping our new Canada.

Ralston Saul, J. (2014). The Comeback [Course Content] Retrieved from; https://d2l.bowvalleycollege.ca/content/enforced/239515-C500217_HMSV1102_20MAYAIAT1_SPRING2020/web/content/resources/History_is_Upon_Us.pdf?_&d2lSessionVal=Udj39u1VJyTOTPsBXu0xTPZ7f&ou=239515

Government of Canada. (2018). Treaties and agreements Retrieved from; https://www.rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca/eng/1100100028574/1529354437231

CBC News. (2016). Missing & Murdered: The Unsolved Cases of Indigenous Women and Girls Retrieved from; https://www.cbc.ca/missingandmurdered/

Interim Report. (2017). The National Inquiry Into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. [Course Content] Retrieved from; https://www.mmiwg-ffada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/ni-mmiwg-interim-report.pdf

Sincerely,

Sarah Hargreaves