WARNING: This story contains distressing details.
ST. PAUL – The Mannawanis Native Friendship Centre (MNFC) held St. Paul’s first ever Murdered and Missing Indigenous Girls, Women and Two-Spirit people (MMIWG2S) conference on Oct. 4.
“It’s a crisis across Canada, across Turtle Island, with regards to MMIWG2S,” said Tanya Shaw, president of MNFC’s board of directors. Shaw said the conference aims to educate the community about the MMIWG2S crisis – as understanding the issue is critical to finding a solution.
And it’s not only an Indigenous issue, “It’s all of our issue... all of us together are the solution,” said Shaw.
The conference, which saw 120 people in attendance, had keynote speakers from across Canada speak on topics related to MMIWG2S. People from the community and surrounding communities also came to “share their lived experience,” said Shaw. This included a mother who shared her experience regarding the loss of her daughter.
In addition, there were also speakers who talked about healing, “because we have to, right?” Shaw said, explaining the trauma that comes to families who have lost their loved ones. There are also families who still have missing loved ones, she said, and they are being denied their own closure.
“It’s really traumatic for families, especially the children and the youth. They were somebody’s mom... daughter... granddaughter... friend... they were people... human beings. They were still somebody that brought something to share with us in this world, in this lifetime, and we need to remember those things.”
Creating awareness, educating others, and doing all the other work related to MMIWG2S, such as hosting the conference is important, explained Shaw. “Because people need to know that they have people who care.”
Elder Irene Pollom shared Shaw’s sentiments, noting that healing is important. Pollom works with families to help them heal and is actively involved in the Lakeland community with efforts related to MMIWG2S and Truth and Reconciliation.
“There will never be closure until some of the families find their loved ones that have been taken,” said Pollom. “I tell them not to give up hope,” to keep praying and have faith.
It might take years, but eventually, Pollom hopes “Their loved ones will be found... taken home and be buried,” said Pollom – with a crack in her voice.
What is also difficult, said Pollom, is when families do find some remains of a loved one.
While painful, finding the remains “can start the process of healing within themselves, so they can grieve, they can cry, and start that process of letting go... that process of accepting their loved one is gone,” said Pollom.
When she speaks to families, Pollom prays for their healing, explaining that with the trauma and pain of losing a loved one, people get mentally and physically sick. Many end up in wheelchairs or walkers because of grief. Some of them have emotional breakdowns, experience anxiety and other emotional issues, and they stop “feeling anymore” due to anger and rage, she said.
Sometimes, families of the missing may have had disagreements with their lost loved ones, before they went missing. This can cause survivor’s guilt, or guilt in general. And the first thing she urges families to do is to “shed tears." To forgive themselves.
The Indigenous people are taught not to cry as they grow up, explained Pollom, “And I was raised like that.” But it’s important to let those tears go.
To families who have lost loved ones, or are yet to find them, Pollom urges them to reach out to others.
“It doesn’t matter who it is. Reach out and ask for that help and assistance with what you’re going through.”
Data on MMIWG2S
Métis Elder Linda Boudreau-Semaganis, a senator with the National Association of Friendship Centres (NAFC) representing Alberta, was also present during the conference in St. Paul.
Boudreau-Semaganis supports families for MMIWG2S, which includes standing beside them in court. She has also collected data of MMIWG2S, “because there’s no database in Canada,” she said.
“It’s never been a priority for our country to track those deaths.”
While there may be no database, Boudreau-Semaganis said there are anticipated to be thousands of MMIWG2S across Canada. Every day, she said, that number increases. Even in St. Paul and in northeast Alberta, there are high numbers, “But they’re minimally reported.”
To address that, she said various organizations are advocating for the “Red Dress Alert” system, as an active initiative against the ongoing violence against MMIWG2S. The idea is similar to Amber Alert.
Boudreau-Semaganis was also involved with bringing keynote speakers to the conference, many who work at a provincial and national level, and have been advocates for MMIWG2S for many years.
Among the speakers was Kathy King from Edmonton, who covered a wide variety of topics, including sexual exploitation of women, and the exploitation that comes from men buying sex.
“We need to do a lot of prevention,” said King, not only with the sex market, but to prevent children from being groomed and trafficked. “So many people start selling [youths that are] under-age… they’re just children.”
King has been a supporter for the vulnerable and exploited. She became more involved when her teen daughter experimented with drugs and went missing in Edmonton in 1997.
Ever since, she has worked to share her daughter’s story and has also volunteered for many organizations to increase awareness and services for young, vulnerable women.
She compiled unofficial data of missing and murdered women and girls in Alberta in the year period of 1971 to 2017, retrieved from newspaper reports and other sources such as Alberta Missing Persons, Canada’s Missing, and the Sisters in Spirit Vigil.
In total, her unofficial compilation listed 175 missing and murdered women and girls.
