People have expressed curiosity of who we are. Indigenous women are going to share contributions here, and I decided to share my own personal reflection of the events that unfolded over the course of the past month.
We are a collective of Indigenous women. We grew weary with feeling alone and silenced while combatting colonial advances. It is that simple. We got tired of feeling alone. It reminds me of when you witness a girlfriend going through that breakup, and she wakes up one morning and says, ‘enough of this shit,’ and makes her move. We broke up with the unacceptable and we made our move.
It happened the day CBC released the story on Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond. We saw the news. We were shocked - not by the contents inside that CBC report – but, by the fact that it was finally out in the open. Then came the silence. I got on social media to gage the public reaction and I saw Indigenous women sharing the story, then deleting their posts altogether. Strong fierce intelligent women were second-guessing a desire to wade into the waters and interact in a dialogue on an issue directly impacting them. Then the inbox messages came in. This is where the real reaction manifested – inside those private messages. The next day, I saw Indigenous leaders making public statements challenging anyone to support “tabloid reporting,” and shaming anyone engaging in “lateral violence,” while reminding us this was “nobody’s business.” Then UBC released its statement. All of this was met with more silence. Where were the leaders stepping out for Indigenous women?
In Cree Iskotew means fire in a woman’s heart. The old people warn to never disrespect Iskotew. Women started publishing their responses. Courageous, gifted, risk taking, thoughtful, grounded women stepped out and they took pen to paper.
We read and shared these beautiful offerings with one another. It lit a way forward. We gathered and we opened up a dialogue in a safe space, and we made the move; the first tiny baby step – forward.
Some women volunteered to put their names forward. Being anonymous and still having a voice – this was offered, and this was accepted. Some of the women offered to go in front, to appear in the media and put their names out to the public. They agreed to alternate and other ladies offered to contribute in other ways. We all have unique gifts to offer. This has been a volunteer effort. Since the first statement was released, women from around the country have reached out and offered support. It is a growing sisterhood.
How do we Stop Colonial Violence Against Indigenous Women? With everything we have inside of us. And so we write – we express our voice through the arts – we research – we organize – we dialogue – we walk – we dance – we challenge – we advocate - we simply exist unapologetically. We stand and lift one another up. October came in bearing pain and struggle and October retreated bearing blessings.
Signed,
An anonymous member with the Indigenous Women’s Collective
shiq'puch way....good day and many thanks for your good heart-felt words. from an old Kuthla/ulla /grandma of the Walla Walla Tribe: Waluulapum our Tribes are near the blue mountains (Oregon)
shiq'puch way....good day and many thanks for your good heart-felt words. from an old Kuthla/ulla /grandma of the Walla Walla Tribe: Waluulapum our Tribes are near the blue mountains (Oregon)