Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) is an epidemic that affects indigenous people in the United States and Canada, including Native Americans, Metis, Inuit, and other First Nations groups. MMIWG has been described as a Canadian genocide and national disaster in Canada. There has been a large-scale campaign in Canada to raise awareness of MMIWG through tribal council meetings, local municipal council meetings, database construction, community forums, and coordinated marches. The Canadian government established the national inquiry into MMIWG in 2016 due to repeated requests from Indigenous organizations and non-governmental organizations. Between 1980 and 2012, the murder of Indigenous women and girls accounted for 16 percent of all murders in Canada (Pabla 2021). According to statistics, the number of indigenous girls and women murdered between 1997 and 2000 was seven times higher than that of non-Aboriginal female victims (Pabla 2021). However, the number of non-Indigenous women murdered has decreased simultaneously. Pickton’s killings of 49 women in the Vancouver area and the Highway of Tears murders, which claimed the lives of 19 women, are also noteworthy. This essay will examine the concerns surrounding the missing and murdered indigenous women.
It is impossible to understand violence against indigenous women and girls without considering Canada’s terrible history as a colonial country with large numbers of indigenous people. Colonial endeavors in history shaped Indigenous women’s injustice and gender discrimination. Indigenous women have been mistreated since Europeans first arrived in North America, and the legacy of slavery endures today. Colonization’s discrimination and maltreatment of indigenous people created permanent scars of trauma (Pabla 2021). People from indigenous backgrounds have had to deal with this kind of trauma their entire lives. The Canadian government’s history of Aboriginal women’s subjugation includes cultural injustice, racial inequity, lack of government and self-determination, and institutional apartheid.
Residential schools, Indian legislation, and compulsory sterilization all impacted indigenous women’s ability to participate in community services, security networks, and cultural ties. Government abuse and a lack of commitment to indigenous people against the consequences of colonialism and the process of recovery are terrible. Brandt claims that colonization is to blame for indigenous people’s constant racialization and sexualization (Dean 2015). Colonization’s legacy must be understood, or governments will ignore calls to account for indigenous people who have gone missing or been slaughtered.
Indigenous women have long been victims of violence and hatred because of their marginalization in the political, economic, and social arenas. In addition to homelessness and poverty, their plight can be traced back to historical events like slavery, sexism, and racism. Canadians have suffered trauma due to the atrocities in the country’s residential school system. Compared to non-indigenous women, Aboriginal women are more likely to be subjected to severe violence. In addition, they have a three-fold greater chance of being victims of violent crimes than other women. Colonization history has had a significant influence on the relationship between First Nations, Metis and Inuit Peoples and their ideology (Pabla 2021). There are still fresh forms of violence against indigenous women and girls around the world because to assimilationist schemes like the residential institutions and Sixties Scoop.
The different effects of colonial domination on the religious, emotional, mental, and physical wellbeing of First Nations, Inuit, and Metis Peoples create a foundation for other kinds of violence, like interpersonal violence. The stories told by survivors and family members about their health problems, the deaths or disappearances of loved ones, and the long trips they took to get medical care show how important it is to stop violence against Indigenous girls and women and protect their right to health. Metis, Inuit, and First Nations girls and women are always at risk of losing their cultural, social, economic, emotional, and physical security (Dean 2015). After hearing from survivors and their families at the National Inquiry, it became clear that the security issue needed to be fixed to protect aboriginal girls and women from being killed or taken away.
Although several Indigenous women and girls go missing across Canada, the Indigenous community’s pleas for the Canadian government to assist are typically ignored. But this kind of event is rarely heard in the news or towns with a high population of Indigenous people (Bychutsky 2017). As a result, Indigenous concerns typically get pushed to the back burner. Since the beginning of colonization, indigenous women have been subjected to unequal treatment. They continue to deal with this problem up to the present day, as can be seen in the news, as well as in correctional facilities and other parts of the criminal justice system.
Many indigenous people were murdered in Canada because the Canadian government did not do its part. The government ignored Indigenous women’s issues, claiming they are not a significant concern. The public’s perception of these coercive characteristics shapes social norms marginalizing indigenous people. The federal government has consistently rebuffed calls for a federal investigation into the disappearance and murder of indigenous persons. Only after a change of management in 2015 was the probe seriously considered. For two years, the Trudeau government allocated $53.86 million for the national investigation (Bychutsky 2017). Since colonialism, Canada has struggled to find solutions to this daunting problem. Native Women’s Association of Canada: Sister in Spirit Initiative is a program for indigenous women while the survey is being finished. To keep tabs on violence against the indigenous population, the group has created a nationwide database. Educating young indigenous women and children about safety and security is also a priority for these organizations. This is one example of indigenous people’s deprivation and violence in their society.
The media is paying little attention to the fact that indigenous women are being murdered and going missing solely because these women are indigenous and live in rural places notorious for things like criminality, drug usage, and sexual labor. Recognizing Indigenous women as victims is one way this issue can be resolved (Bychutsky 2017). The government must take this step. A restorative justice program can help reduce the incidence of criminal conduct among Indigenous people and the overcrowding of Australian jails by making participants feel heard and seen (Palmater 2016) The police and the government of Canada have not been more active in the instances of missing women, and these cases are not going to end until they are probed in-depth and to the fullest extent possible.
The term “Highway of Tears” refers to a portion of Highway 16 that stretches from Prince Rupert to Prince George and is approximately 700 kilometers long. Along this section of highway, a large number of women and girls, the majority of whom were indigenous women, have been murdered or have gone missing. Different indigenous corporations and government agencies have come up with different estimates regarding the exact number of people killed on Highway 16. According to the authorities, the number of fatalities is 18, with 13 young people (Anderson et al. 2010). Nevertheless, according to the findings of some other groups, approximately forty females are involved. Because there is no public transportation and many people do not possess automobiles, an increased number of people are hitchhiking on the highway, which has led to an increase in the number of homicides (McDiarmid 2019). One of the measures that have been taken to discourage women from hitchhiking owing to the dangers that could be encountered on the road is the placement of billboards in strategic locations.
In the past thirty years, there have been reports of approximately one hundred women going missing in British Columbia. Only British Columbia is considered here; this does not include any other provinces or territories. Indigenous women have given the route between Hazelton and Houston and Burns Lake the moniker “Highway of Tears” because of the high number of indigenous women and girls who have vanished from that region (McDiarmid 2019). This is because the route connects Hazelton and Houston. The number of females reported missing by the police stands at nine, but the figure may be closer to thirty. The mainstream media, however, has shown relatively little interest in covering this topic.
Following the election’s conclusion in Canada in 2015, the newly elected government carried on the commitments made in its manifesto and launched a nationwide investigation. Participants in the pre-inquiry sessions included persons from various backgrounds, including family members, frontline workers, and leaders of Indigenous groups and provinces. This was one method for determining how to proceed with the inquiry’s structure (Anderson et al. 2010). The Canadian government had no control over the inquest, and five commissioners were appointed to oversee the independent investigation process. The inquest was conducted independently of the government. However, in 2017, there were allegations that the inquiry did not exercise transparency. As a result of these complaints, the inquiry was reopened, its mission was reconsidered, and its schedule was extended in response to a request made by the Assembly of First Nations (Eagle et al.). After the conclusion of the public hearings in October 2018, the inquiry’s final report was compiled and presented to the Canadian government along with its recommendations in April 2019.
The investigation into the deaths and disappearances of Indigenous girls and women resulted in the compilation of a final report titled “Reclaiming Power and Place”, which contained all of the pertinent data from the investigation. The research also claimed that the increased violence toward Indigenous girls and women was connected to the state’s inactions and acted in colonial ideas (Buller et al. 2019). This was demonstrated by the fact that the report mentioned colonialism. A total of eight validation meetings, as well as twenty-four hearings and several more gatherings, were held across Canada to create the final report (Palmater 2015). Additionally, eight incarceration facilities were visited, and statements from seven hundred fifty individuals were gathered. In addition, frontline officials, workers, knowledge keepers, elders, and expert witnesses were consulted during the investigation.
In a news report that the CBC released in 2019, the National Inquiry Commissioners stated that the killings and disappearances of Indigenous women constituted a “Canadian genocide.” According to the commissioner, there was a continuous genocide that was purposeful and based on gender, identity, and ethnicity (Eagle et al.). In the MMIWG, the contributions of Raphael Lemkin, the man credited with coining the term “genocide,” are mentioned. He elaborated that the term “genocide” did not necessarily mean mass murders that destroyed a country but rather a well-coordinated arrangement composed of various actions whose purpose is to destroy indispensable life foundations of national groups that aim to eradicate the group themselves. He had stated that genocide did not necessarily mean mass murders that destroyed a country. In the year 2019, Chrystia Freeland, Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, was requested to commence the drafting of an independent investigation into the MMIWG accusation that genocide occurred in Canada. However, Conservative Party member Andrew Scheer criticized the usage of the word “genocide” because he felt it was too strong to explain MMIWG.
In conclusion, an epidemic that affects Indigenous peoples in Canada and Native American communities, Metis, Inuit, and First Nations, is missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls (MMIWG). The federal government of Canada began an investigation into the MMIWG in 2016 that has since been expanded to include the entire country. Between 1980 and 2012, 16% of all Canadian women were killed by Indigenous women and girls (Barrera 2019). Only 4% of the female population in the United States is made up of indigenous women and girls. Since their political, economic, and social marginalization, indigenous women have been frequently subjected to violence or hate. There are several explanations for their plight, including homelessness and poverty, as well as historical influences like colonialism, gender inequality, and racism. In the case of MMIWG, the Highway of Tears serves as an excellent illustration of its power. It is estimated that serial killer Robert Pickton slain 49 women. A Canadian National Inquiry was formed to investigate the issue of murdered and missing aboriginal girls and women. It drafted its findings and suggestions on how to address this issue.
References
Anderson, A. Brenda, Wendee Kubik, and Mary Rucklos Hampton, eds. 2010. “Torn from our midst: Voices of grief, healing and action from the missing indigenous women conference”, 2008. Vol. 37. University of Regina Press. Web.
Buller, Marion, Michèle Audette, Qajaq Robinson, and Brian Eyolfson. 2019. “Reclaiming power and place: The final report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.”. Web.
Bychutsky, Rebecca. 2017 “Social denial: An analysis of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls in Canada.” PhD diss., Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa. Web.
Dean, Amber. The CMHR and the Ongoing Crisis of Murdered or Missing Indigenous Women: Do Museums Have a Responsibility to Care? Review of Education, Pedagogy, and Cultural Studies 37, no. 2-3 (2015): 147-165. Web.
Eagle, Big, Sandra Gagnon, Ryszard Hunka, and Presenter Wab Kinew. A List of Resources Related to Understanding Missing and Murdered Indigenous/Aboriginal Women, Girls, and Two Spirits in Canada and to Framing Solutions. Web.
McDiarmid, Jessica. 2019. Highway of Tears: A True Story of Racism, Indifference, and the Pursuit of Justice for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. Atria Books, 2019.
Pabla, Tanya. 2021. Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls: A Discourse Analysis of Gendered Colonial Violence in Canada. Journal of Law and Criminal Justice 9, no. 2: 1-30. Web.
Palmater, Pamela. 2015. Indigenous nationhood. Empowering Grassroots Citizens.
Palmater, Pamela. 2016. “Shining light on the dark places: Addressing police racism and sexualized violence against Indigenous women and girls in the national inquiry”. Canadian Journal of Women and the Law 28, no. 2: 253-284. Web.