Status of Women committee  My priority, naturally, will always be the on-the-land program. I've witnessed it. I've taken people on the land: elders, youth, and young adults. That's where I found that they really connected with one another. They could talk about anything when they're out on the land. When

Status of Women committee  Yes, I understand the bill you're talking about, and the reason we are very concerned about the bill is that it gives a lot of power to the RCMP, rather than to the women in the community. This is especially true of the women on reserves who stand to lose their homes sometimes.

Status of Women committee  Okay. This happened, I know, during my lifetime in the residential school. I saw my friends being woken up in the morning and told that they were getting married at six o'clock in the morning. I've since spoken to some of them, and 50 or 60 years later they're still in the same r

Status of Women committee  I come from a community where the population is about 400, mainly aboriginal--90%, I think. We have abuse problems. It's not only alcohol, but there are hard drugs out there. I think the change I see is that in my young days growing up I didn't see alcohol. I didn't know what alc

Status of Women committee  I have three recommendations I'd like to bring forth. The federal justice department should be working with the communities on alternative programs. We all know that jails do not work, so don't build any more. Traditional programs could be piloted. There should be funding availab

Status of Women committee  I want to jump on the impact of residential school that I talked about, because I am a product of residential school. I was in there for ten years, from the time I was seven years old till I got married. I remember the nun telling me, “Don't forget, you're getting married for one

Status of Women committee  Mahsi cho for having me here. [Witness speaks in Dene] I would like to thank you for taking the time to visit Yellowknife and to find out first-hand what is occurring in the area of violence against aboriginal women in the Northwest Territories. As you probably already know, t

Status of Women committee  Okay. I just want to focus on the root causes. As you know, many of us have suffered from the impact of residential schools in our lives. Aboriginal people were not violent people in the past. The men did not abuse their wives, their families. We were brought up on the land. The