In 1990, we created the Bear Clan Patrol. The number one reason we created that patrol as an alternative to the police was that it was obvious and visible that non-indigenous men—white men from the suburbs, affluent, in high-end vehicles with baby seats in their backseat—would come into the inner city and indigenous neighbourhoods to bother, grab up, use and abuse indigenous women and girls, who were just going about their business. That was the sole reason that Bear Clan even began 34 years ago. We said, “No, that was not going to happen in our community.”
The ultimate form of racism is to view another person as inferior and not human. If you do that, then you're allowed to do anything you want to them, and specifically to the women. If you want to harm a nation, then you harm the women of that nation. That is what has happened. There is still a 20% to 25% statistic that it's non-indigenous white men who are perpetrating this violence against indigenous women and girls.
Thank you for the opportunity for me to share that.