My name is Ellen Gabriel, and I have been the president of the Quebec Native Women's Association since 2004. I am from the community of Kanesatake, a Mohawk community that experienced first-hand violence from the Canadian government during the Oka crisis.
I am an artist and have been an activist for the last 20 years. We like to look at the work we're doing in Quebec Native Women in a holistic way, in terms of how we can make solutions for our community. So we need to include the impact that colonization has had in not just how our communities function or don't function properly, but also how legislation that is currently in discussion in Parliament, proposed by the Conservative government, is just a patchwork remedy of changing the Indian Act. At the end of the day, the Indian Act will still exist. We have been lobbying hard for many years, since the Sisters in Spirit research initiative was created, demanding from the government, along with our colleagues at Amnesty International, a national plan of action so that we can look at the kinds of needs that must be addressed for families, children, and communities to overcome this sad part in our history as aboriginal people that shows no sign of decreasing.
We also call upon the police to implement the 2006 protocol, the chiefs of police protocol, where they recognize that there needs to be a specific mechanism for police to respond to not just murdered or missing aboriginal women but also violence. I think the police within the reserves are not adequately trained to deal with domestic violence, sexual violence, or murdered or missing aboriginal women. So there is a huge gap in how our communities are able, just in human resources, to respond to these grave issues.
I think colonization is a major factor in shaping violence against aboriginal women. Amnesty's 2004 report stated that long-standing stereotypes and prejudices in Canadian society have fostered widespread and brutal acts of violence against aboriginal women. This is compounded by government policy and dispossession of indigenous people's land, resources, and territory. They've suffered impoverishment, with the loss of ties to family and community.
In spite of the June 11 apology for the residential school system, there has been no indication from this present government that there is any kind of healthy reconciliation happening in the community to undo those negative impacts that the residential school system had upon aboriginal children, who later, when they became adults, tried to raise families based upon their experiences.
When you have the Aboriginal Healing Foundation and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, there is this expectant result from government that, within x amount of time, all should be well.
How can you undo over 100 years of colonization, oppression, and legislation that has been embedded in the psyche of our people? It takes time. It also takes support, honesty, and goodwill from the government to be able to support the communities.
It's not just a matter of money; it's a matter of education. I think one of the things that is sorely lacking in trying to address this issue is the lack of education in government in how colonization has affected aboriginal communities and how it continues to affect aboriginal people in our communities.
We need to think of changing the future for the children who exist today so they will not have to endure any more colonized, oppressive policies under the Indian Act. We have asked for the full endorsement of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Our languages have suffered; our sexuality has suffered; our identity as human beings, I believe, has suffered.
There has been no adequate consultation or accommodation to our needs in any kind of engagement sessions the government has conducted in the last four years of its existence.
I'll stop there, because I know there's more discussion to take place.
Thank you.