Long Blog Post 4 — Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls
During my Canadian Law course in my second semester in grade eleven, I remember being exposed at a greater extent to the issue of Indigenous Canadian women deemed to be either missing or murdered. Even after this course and — ultimately — after high school, I still continue to think about this issue because most of these cases remain unresolved even after many years.
For instance, some Indigenous Canadian women have been murdered decades ago and the perpetrators responsible for their deaths have yet to be brought to justice. Likewise, cases involving Indigenous Canadian women who are not confirmed dead but have been missing for periods of time have not been found yet.
For example, one case that conveys extreme ambiguity involves the case of Marie Lynn Lasas in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. According to CBC’s investigation into her case, Marie Lynn Lasas went missing on September 21st, 2006, at the age of 19 years old. Marie was apparently walking home after a night at her friend’s house and quickly visited her uncle before continuing her way home. However, after leaving her uncle’s house, Marie disappeared without any trace. Nine months after she had disappeared, her deceased body was found behind an abandoned house that was located approximately three kilometers away from where she had been before she disappeared. According to Marie’s family, the authorities’ efforts in solving the case have not been adequate because they are no longer pursuing any additional investigative leads and are deeming that the case had gone “cold”.
Similarly, many other Indigenous Canadian families are unhappy with the investigation efforts displayed by authorities in their cities. According to CBC, at least 34 families are unsatisfied with the authorities because they have suggested “no foul play” involved in 34 cases containing Indigenous Canadian women, even though all these cases have evidence that necessitate additional investigative measures.
The vagueness and lack of investigation surrounding these cases affects many Indigenous Canadian families whose loved ones have been found dead or have yet to be found. As a result, the trust put into the authorities to resolve these cases continues to diminish over time.
The Canadian government has also acknowledged the concern of missing or murdered Indigenous Canadian women and girls and has formulated a variety of plans to address the issue.
For example, the government plans to continuously invest in Indigenous education and housing, and to also synthesize transformative reform of child and family services with a sole focus on prevention.
The government is also constantly providing more shelters and transition houses for Indigenous Canadian women and girls fleeing from domestic abuse.
The government is also working with Indigenous groups to address violence against Indigenous Canadian women and girls, most notably the Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC). NWAC is working with the government to develop programs and make changes to legislation that will allow Indigenous women and girls’ voices to be heard, which would help in exposing the severity of their issues more significantly.
The government also developed an Indigenous Justice Program that supports Indigenous community-based justice programs that focuses on reducing Indigenous women and girls’ vulnerability to violent conditions and addressing the root causes of these issues.
Despite the Canadian government developing various plans to combat this issue, the overall success of their plans is under scrutiny. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government had delayed the national action plan for missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls that would have been set in place during June 2020. (Gerster 2020). The federal government has told the victims and families of those affected to wait, blaming the issue of COVID-19 for the postponement. (Gerster 2020).
The federal government’s role in the national action plan is under criticism because they have not fulfilled most of the recommendations outlined in the MMIWG final report even before COVID-19 had struck. (Gerster 2020). Because of this, advocates of the issue believe that the federal government is only using the COVID-19 pandemic as an excuse to delay their promises to the victims and their families even further. (Gerster 2020).
The lack of the Canadian government’s consistency in addressing the issue is another stressing factor that worries Indigenous victims and families that are striving for justice.
To prevent the issue of violence against Indigenous Canadian women and girls from persisting, not only should the performances of the federal government and the authorities in charge of these cases must change, but also societal norms and behaviors. This is because individuals in Canadian society — mostly men and boys — are comfortable with acting violently towards Indigenous women throughout different parts of Canada. Due to this, efforts should also be done to inform Canadian men and boys on what behavior is acceptable towards women.
Bibliography
Gerster, Jane. “Canada Is Asking Families of Murdered, Missing Indigenous Women to Wait for Action Plan. Why?” Global News, Global News, 3 June 2020, www.globalnews.ca/news/7015803/mmiwg-action-plan/.
Government of Canada; Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada. “Actions Taken by the Government of Canada since the Launch of the Inquiry.” Government of Canada; Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, 3 June 2019, www.rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca/eng/1559566331686/1559566355192.
“Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women.” CBCnews, CBC/Radio Canada, www.cbc.ca/missingandmurdered/.
“Newsroom.” FRAMEWORK FOR ACTION TO PREVENT AND ADDRESS VIOLENCE AGAINST INDIGENOUS WOMEN AND GIRLS — Secrétariat Des Conférences Intergouvernementales Canadiennes, scics.ca/en/product-produit/framework-for-action-to-prevent-and-address-violence-against-indigenous-women-and-girls/.
“Unresolved: Marie Lynn Lasas.” CBCnews, CBC/Radio Canada, www.cbc.ca/missingandmurdered/mmiw/profiles/marie-lynn-lasas.
