Moon setting on Sisters in Spirit?
The Conservative government is opposing the use of the name Sisters in Spirit and any work on a groundbreaking database on murdered and missing Aboriginal women cases if the Native Women’s Association of Canada expects to receive any funding for new projects on the issue, sources say.
(Image: Grandmother Moon)
By Jorge Barrera
APTN National News
The Conservative government is opposing the use of the name Sisters in Spirit and any work on a groundbreaking database on murdered and missing Aboriginal women cases if the Native Women’s Association of Canada expects to receive any funding for new projects on the issue, sources say.
The Conservative government has been slowly “smothering” the Sisters in Spirit project which is responsible for bringing to national attention the hundreds of “shocking” cases of murdered and missing Aboriginal women, sources familiar with the file say.
During discussions around a new Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) project on mudered and missing women, Status of Women Canada officials have said rules around the funding’s source program prevented the use of government money from research and policy work. They have asked that funding proposals not include the name Sisters in Spirit or any plans to use the money for the database, sources say.
A spokeswoman for Status of Women said they were still awaiting the proposal. Nanci-Jean Waugh, however, said she could not immediately answer questions on whether the department had imposed conditions on new funding.
Politically, it appears the Conservatives have now turned the page on Sisters in Spirit.
“That project was finished. Don’t mix apples and oranges,” said Conservative MP Shelly Glover, parliamentary secretary for Indian Affairs. “That project was finished, now we’re working with them to pursue other projects.”
Only last Friday, Status of Women Minister Rona Ambrose singled out Sisters in Spirit during the government’s long-awaited $10 million announcement on a national strategy to deal with murdered and missing women cases.
“The journey truly began with an initiative called Sisters in Spirit that was led by the Native Women’s Association of Canada,” said Ambrose, during the announcement in Vancouver. “The association has undertaken an incredible amount of research…and they have brought to light the shocking extent of these horrendous acts of violence.”
The Oct. 29 announcement highlighted the creation of a new police support centre for missing persons, along with promised amendments to the Criminal Code to allow police to wiretap without warrants in emergencies and obtain multiple warrants on a single application. It also promised funding for community-based projects on violence against Aboriginal women and enhancing the cultural sensitivity of victim’s services.
It was criticized by some front-line workers, victims’ families, academics and opposition politicians over its lack of focus on Aboriginal women and its emphasis on giving more money and power to police.
NWAC, however, publicly endorsed the strategy and the Conservatives have since invoked the 35-year-old organization’s name as a shield against criticism of the announcement.
Yet, over several months, the government had been quietly squeezing Sisters in Spirit, which was created under NWAC’s umbrella by the previous Liberal government in 2005. The Liberals committed $5 million over five years to the project.
The project was the catalyst that thrust the issue of missing and murdered Aboriginal women into the public consciousness. Its meticulous research into now nearly 600 cases broke new ground in a realm that had been previously ignored. Its national database became the first of its kind in Canada in its scope and detail.
Sisters in Spirit has received recognition from human rights organizations like Amnesty International. Police agencies and provincial governments have approached the project’s staff to share information.
Sisters in Spirit was also recently approached by police in British Colombia and government officials to become involved in the recently announced inquiry into police work around serial killer Robert Pickton’s case and a parallel process to culminate in a summit focusing on violence faced by Aboriginal women.
The “slow smothering” of Sisters in Spirit began last December when former status of women minister Helena Guergis, after “fighting tooth and nail,” failed to convince the rest of the Stephen Harper cabinet to renew funding for the project, according to sources.
The future of Sisters in Spirit was put in limbo.
The government committed $10 million over two years in its 2010 federal budget “to address the disturbingly high number of missing and murdered Aboriginal women.”
The money, however, would not go to Sisters in Spirit.
With its funding running out at the end of March, the Status of Women department stepped in to provide $500,000 in funding to keep the project’s work going.
Sisters in Spirit then released a report that confirmed 582 cases of missing and murdered Aboriginal women up to March 31 and a second project was put into the works called “Sisters in Spirit, evidence to action.”
Department officials eventually said new money had been found but it would come from an existing program that restricted funds from being used for research and policy work, sources say.
New money would be contingent on taking the name Sisters in Spirit out of the proposal. They also said that none of the money could be spent on the database.
Losing the name would be a serious blow to NWAC. Sisters in Spirit, intertwined with its Grandmother Moon logo, has grown to represent the memories and stories of the missing and the dead
Sisters in Spirit vigils are held every year to commemorate murdered and missing Aboriginal women and the Grandmother Moon logo is often prominently displayed at these national events.
If the database of the hundreds of murdered and missing women cases turns stangnant, it remains unclear what could take its place. Before the database came into being, it was up to individuals posting on scattered websites to keep the search for missing Aboriginal women going.
The recently announced national police support centre for missing persons and unidentified remains won’t be up and running until at least 2013, according to the RCMP.
The centre received $4 million of the $10 million set aside in the budget to deal with murdered and missing Aboriginal women.
The centre has also received an additional $6 million for a total of $10 million over five years, the RCMP said.
The centre will become the third branch of the Canadian Police Centre for Missing and Exploited Children, but it will not have a separate section dedicated for Aboriginal women.
The new centre will rely on missing persons reports filed with local police forces. It will provide linkages to other cases if they exist.
The Sisters in Spirit database includes some historical cases that were not accepted by police. It also includes cases where police have closed the book on a woman’s death, despite lingering questions from family members.
After the release of its spring report, Sisters in Spirit was in the process of analysing 20 new cases.
This is truly a sad image of how the government respects and really cares for the aboriginal people as a whole. These are the mothers, sisters and daughters of someones life. These are the facts that are being shown to the country to help stop these crimes to our Woman. Just because the facts do not look good on paper, It looks even more heartless to make this group founded on awareness and love for their missing to have to negotiate to keep the spirit and meaning alive??. REMEMBER: as a nation we stand, divide we fall. These are our people and they ALL need to be recognized. Be aware of the politics because this effects us all.
SORRY! Only meant to say it once but am on east coast with real bad weather & hooked up to someone else’s wireless & obviously am having issues!
Beautiful Lady 2004 is correct in her assumption that something more than meets the eye IS going on with the govts., refusal to continue funding for Sisters. Over a year ago I desperately tried to get into their website as I had information I thought they would want to hear. I kept being re-directed to another site that always give an error msg. I eventually had to give up. Obviously there is a deliberate reason the govt., is being so utterly callous (not even pretending anymore) with regard to the missing & murdered women & those who loved them. Racism is a mental illness! Think Hitler: Baking little babies up.How did he manage to convince an entire nation to go along with him? Harper’s govt., is racist (But no more than Chretienu2018s was or how many others?). The writing is on the wall. Native people are on the rise, in every respect (and so are the Nazis.). We’re just too darned wholesome & smart to be held down forever & the ruling class knows it is only a matter of time before we’re in control of our own destinies & those of our children. Then there’s the sheer numbers to consider as all of us know well that power is in numbers.nn I believe, like the Nazi, when they realized the game was over, and stepped up in the eleventh hour to cook more humans in the last months than they had over the entire course of the war, our govts., are increasing their abuse/killing of our children by the SS (Social Services-yes,Nazi SS) and our women in a last ditch effort to do as much damage as they can, while they still can. The women and kids are easier pickings, generally. *[If there are brackets in the middle of a sentence read the whole sentence, then go back and read it but skip anything in brackets & it will make sense.] I believe the govt.,people (men & women, obviously) have bought into the idea (like in 13th Warrior with Antonio Banderas where the old sage tells the good guys they can get the bad guys if they get to and kill “the Mother.”) that the root of the Indian Problem lies with the women. Eradicate as many as you can get your hands on, justify it with “they were all ‘women of the night’ anyway” (when clearly they all were not & even so…) and you’ll go a long way to correcting the problem. Fewer kids will be born, for starters. And morale will be low (of course that is their aim in cancelling Sisters work.). Do they fight back against tyranny when moral is low? Not! nn But you all might as well quit with the hatred of and generalization of “whites.” (Donu2019t get your DNA checked. You might find you are hating a part of yourself & wouldnu2019t that be silly?) Obviously they are here to stay. They are part of us & we of them. The problem is not color/race/religion. It’s ideology and there still are good & bad in every race.Why else did the tribes on this continent fight each other to the death, before colonization? Many whites are your friend, though you know it not. Many whites are as horrified with the govts., disgraceful conduct as we are. Many of them are as willing to fight the Good Fight (our fight for autonomy) for Right as we are. Don’t stoop to racism yourselves or all will be lost. As far as voting, whites and non-whites are believing voting is simply a waste of energy: Same shit/different pile. Why bother? And the more things change, the more they stay the same. Too many of our leaders or people in federal politics care far more about $ than they do about “The People.” The ruling class gets these greedy turncoats on board & if you think they are worth more, because they are Native, than a decent “white” then you need to give your head a hard shake, wake up, think, pray, stay sober. ‘They’ want us all drunk. So much easier to kill us and for sure, that is the intent. Troubles will comeu2026but without them nothing will change.n
Beautiful Lady 2004 is correct in her assumption that something more than meets the eye IS going on with the govts., refusal to continue funding for Sisters. Over a year ago I desperately tried to get into their website as I had information I thought they would want to hear. I kept being re-directed to another site that always give an error msg. I eventually had to give up. Obviously there is a deliberate reason the govt., is being so utterly callous (not even pretending anymore) with regard to the missing & murdered women & those who loved them. Racism is a mental illness! Think Hitler: Baking little babies up.How did he manage to convince an entire nation to go along with him? Harper’s govt., is racist (but not more than Chretien’s or how many other govts?). The writing is on the wall. Native people are on the rise, in every respect (and so are the Nazis.). We’re just too darned wholesome & smart to be held down forever & the ruling class knows it is only a matter of time before we’re in control of our own destinies & those of our children. Then there’s the sheer numbers to consider as all of us know well that power is in numbers.nn I believe, like the Nazi, when they realized the game was over, and stepped up in the eleventh hour to cook more humans in the last months than they had over the entire course of the war, our govts., are increasing their abuse/killing of our children by the SS (Social Services-yes,Nazi SS) and our women in a last ditch effort to do as much damage as they can, while they still can. The women and kids are easier pickings, generally. *[If there are brackets in the middle of a sentence read the whole sentence, then go back and read it but skip anything in brackets & it will make sense.] I believe the govt.,people (men & women, obviously) have bought into the idea (like in 13th Warrior with Antonio Banderas where the old sage tells the good guys they can get the bad guys if they get to and kill “the Mother.”) that the root of the Indian Problem lies with the women. Eradicate as many as you can get your hands on, justify it with “they were all ‘women of the night’ anyway” (when clearly they all were not & even so…) and you’ll go a long way to correcting the problem. Fewer kids will be born, for starters. And morale will be low (of course that is their aim in cancelling Sisters work.). Do they fight back against tyranny when moral is low? Not! nnBut you all might as well quit with the hatred of and generalization of “whites” (don’t get your DNA checked – you might be hating a part of yourself & wouldn’t that be silly?). Obviously they are here to stay. They are part of us & we of them. The problem is not color/race/religion. It’s ideology and there still are good & bad in every race.Why else did the tribes on this continent fight each other to the death, before colonization? Many whites are your friend, though you know it not. Many whites are as horrified with the govts., disgraceful conduct as we are. Many of them are as willing to fight the Good Fight (our fight for autonomy) for Right as we are. Don’t stoop to racism yourselves or all will be lost. As far as voting, whites and non-whites are believing voting is simply a waste of energy: Same shit/different pile. Why bother? And the more things change, the more they stay the same. Too many of our own leaders and people in federal politics care far more about $ than they do about “The People.” Our govt., gets these greedy turncoats on board & if you think they are worth more, because they are Native, than a decent “white” then you need to give your head a hard shake, wake up, think, pray, stay sober. ‘They’ want us all drunk. So much easier to kill us and for sure, that is the general intent. Troubles will come…but without it there will be no change.
justice for indian women is to use the analogy of a rape victim who brings the rapist to court but find out later the presiding judge is the rapists’ brother and the jury that is involved are first and third cousins of the rapist. i ask you”who can predict the outcome?”
Looks like there’s an awful lot more going on here than the writer reports – In the meantime the government is forgetting about the peoples! Something is already created in the works, money time and energy put into it and the government wants to start something new…..instead of building on whats already been done. First Nations people have been subject to this type of patronizing paternal attitude since 1492! First Nations move two steps forward then the government moves the darn track!!! Its all a conspiracy!! Keep First Nations people busy putting out fires and delay the work that desperately needs to be done – already!!! Racism is a Mental Illness!
ever since that freak harper “apologized” to us irs survivors any and all programs and funding have been cut and alot has been given to big business’ and the freakin immigrants coming to canada-all without consultations from first nations who own this land.rnan immigrant receives about 3400 $ per month to live on(sic) while the first nations like frank paul are thrown out into the streets and foster care kids are sold to non native foster freaks who kill them and police can take down any first nations person then tamper with the actual evidence and get away with it… suppose i looked at a white person and they called the police then the police will arrive to protect that white person at all costs- that is how bad the racism against our first nations are.rncanada is now overcrowded with immigrants and our ppl still are homeless and jobless and landless and still canada and canadians still want more and more of what is first nations and we dont have much to give nor take but still the canadian police forces and justice systems are taking our ppls lives and the social welfare workers and social workers are killing our kids and the taking and killing still goes on and and on…rnthe only justice ever meted out is for anyone NOT first nations and i’m really feeling alot of bad feelings for any politician or police force and i’d like to rant and rave about these bad feelings but i’d be taken down by a police force and charged and jailed for racism and i feel ive not sunk to the levels that non natives have against first nations.rnif your not first nations then get the hell off our lands and return to your ppls countries!
We as aboringals women. NEED TO Vote to get the bloody P/C out of Gov`t.rnBut no,because we think, feel, powerlessness.rnCome ON PEOPLE, My SiSters rnWE ARE THE DIFFERENCE.
Thats why voting is so important######### Meadheads{{{{{{
WHAT ABOUT THE PEOPLE WHO ARE STILL MISSING? HOW IS THAT MIXING APPLES AND ORANGES? AGAIN A FINE EXAMPLE OUR CANADIAN JUSTICE SYSTEM, AND THEIR FEELINGS TOWARDS FIRST PEOPLES OF CANADA!!!!!!!!!