I wasn't actually sure if I'd have a voice to do this, because of my throat thing going on right now.
I want to acknowledge that I'm coming to you from Treaty No. 1 territory. I'm Cree from Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation.
I want to share about the National Family Survivors Circle.
We're a group of amazing indigenous women from across Canada who were brought together in August 2020 to support the development of the national action plan. We're really looking forward to continuing this important, sacred work that we have. We use our strength and expertise as family members and survivors of gender-based violence to advocate for the process that is moving forward with respect to the national inquiry's final report into missing and murdered indigenous women and girls.
All actions must come from a rights-based approach. Everyone has the right to live in dignity and safety and to maintain and practise their identity and culture. Under international human rights law, states are obligated to do everything they can to ensure that rights essential to individual and collective well-being, such as the rights to education, health and livelihood and the right to live free from violence, can be fully realized in the lives of all people without discrimination.
All governments are expected to take every reasonable measure to stop human rights violations, including preventing crimes and abuses committed by private actors such as corporations and individuals. Where rights have been violated, states have an obligation to ensure justice by acknowledging the harm, assisting the victims in their recovery and preventing the harms from being repeated.
When resource development is occurring indigenous communities do not have the infrastructure, leadership capacity or expertise to respond to the rapid social changes, violence and population growth. Consequently, local resources are drained dealing with crime, substance abuse, health problems and the stress placed on human service organizations and public services due to increased demand for services and an insufficient capacity to meet those demands. Increased social responsibility by the state and companies that are profiting from resource extraction must be mandatory in all agreements.
Many reports have clearly demonstrated the intersectionality of resource development and violence against indigenous women and girls and to 2SLGBTQQIA+ people, yet recommendations fail to be implemented and the violence continues.
Sherene Razack identifies resource extraction as the heart of colonial violence. She goes on to say that while white men are not explicitly mentioned and it is only the “transient worker” when referring to mining camp workers, we know there is a culture of impunity in this location. Racism in the oil patch can be obvious and sometimes subtle. It is important to ask, what does the violence do? What is it about? Why is racism and violence such an everyday, anticipated activity of resource extraction? Colonial histories have led to this. It is a genocidal impulse.
Drawing from Sherene Razack's work, she also identified that it is critical to understand how colonial power is imprinted on indigenous bodies. It is the raw material for the making of the settler state and from which it manufactures power. Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people should never suffer for the state's economic prosperity.
It is often the voices of those who are most impacted that are absent from the table, and the silence is deafening for those who are being victimized during resource development projects. Indigenous women and girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people must be part of advisory circles from the territory where resource extraction is occurring, and safety and accountability mechanisms must be included in all legally binding agreements.
The National Family and Survivors Circle has identified four pillars in their contribution to the national action plan. These four pillars are fundamental in properly applying the principles of change from the national inquiry final report and should be utilized in all resource agreements.
The pillar of inclusion is the full and informed involvement of MMIWG2S families and survivors of gender-based violence. It centres their lived experience and recognizes their agency, knowledge, experience and expertise as valuable and as a key part of the information guiding all decisions.
The principle of interconnectedness reflects and reinforces the indigenous understanding that everyone and everything has a purpose. The root cause of violence, as well as the solutions for ending it, are also interconnected. It is the lived experience of families and survivors that is the thread that brings to light the root causes and the solutions.
For accountability, there must be the will to support and carry out transformative change at all levels. Mechanisms and forums to report on actions taken are essential to hold all governments, agencies and organizations accountable.