Ontario Native Women’s Association   15
INUIT HOUSING
JFK
LAW LLP
JFKlaw.ca
Image - Frog by Evan Aster
Meet JFK Law’s women leadership
Corporate
& Commercial
Services
JFK Law represents Indigenous communities throughout
Canada. We work with our clients to advance their
Nations, protect their rights and build their economies.
Driven by a passion
for justice, we offer
creative legal
solutions and work
towards meaningful
change.
Consultation,
Accommodation
and Regulatory
Review
Litigation and
Dispute
Resolution
Economic
Development and
Governance
Complex
Negotiations
Sara Mainville
Managing Partner
Karey Brooks KC
Partner
Erin Thomson-Leach
Partner
Aria Laskin
Partner
Claire Truesdale
Partner
Robin Phillips
Partner
Su Hutchinson
COO
Victoria . Vancouver . Toronto . Kahnawake . Montreal
Katie Tucker
Partner
JFK
LAW LLP
Victoria . Va
could walk into the space and that it was 
perfect for them. There is no ‘later’; every-
one’s grown up in housing that has never 
been finished and hasn’t been designed 
for them. This is going to be finished.”
To meet that plan is no small feat, but one 
that the OAC is fully dedicated to seeing 
through. Every detail of the building has 
been carefully planned, with an Advisory 
Committee of Inuit women who have 
led the work from the very beginning. 
“The Advisory Committee members are 
amazing,” says Riggs. “These are women 
who all have their own stories of domestic 
violence. All they were focused on was ‘how 
can I make sure that what happened to me 
won’t happen to other women?’”
From the ground up, every need expressed 
by Inuit women throughout monthly 
Committee meetings and four community 
workshop engagements has been diligently 
mapped out to create a shared vision of 
what the shelter needs to be. The process 
is revolutionary, including windows in 
the intake space so that mothers can see 
their children are safe throughout the 
process; dining areas made with traditional 
practices in mind, including benches that 
can be moved and tiled floors to accom-
modate floor-eating and hammering for 
breaking up frozen meat; and adaptability 
of rooms to allow for comfortability of 
larger families. “This shelter is not just 
about responding to violence,” says Adams. 
“It is about dignity, healing, belonging and 
creating a place where Inuit women know 
they matter. A culturally grounded space 
means women do not have to explain who 
they are before receiving support. They 
can walk into a place where their identity is 
already honoured.”
“It’s kind of crazy amazing that we’re doing 
this,” says Riggs with a laugh. “It’s really 
beautiful. We were there a few weeks ago 
for a site visit. I was standing in the middle 
of the circle, and I just started to cry.”
Both Riggs and Adams are steadfast in 
their knowledge that this work is more 
than worth the time, effort and challenges 
they’ve faced, and encourage others to 
take on this work in their communities 
too. “Sometimes you will be the only 
Indigenous woman at the table,” says 
Adams. “Sometimes you will have to say the 
hard things. Sometimes you will have to 
challenge systems that were never created 
with us in mind – do it anyway.”
For Riggs, letting Indigenous women lead 
the work being done is crucial. “Talk and 
work with the women who will be impacted 
by whatever you are creating,” she says. 
“It’s for them – it should really be led 
by them. Practical things, like where do 
the bars go in the bathroom, how much 
storage they need… They will have 
the answers.”
The completion of this project occurs 
alongside another significant step in the 
OAC’s growth as they join the Ontario 
Native Women’s Association’s (ONWA) 
membership as a new chapter. Adams, 
who holds a longstanding relationship 
with ONWA, states, “Partnerships like 
this matter because the issues impacting 
Indigenous women cannot be addressed 
in isolation. […] Working together 
allows us to strengthen our collective 
voice and ensure Indigenous women and 
families continue to be centred in deci-
sions that impact them.”
“Our communities do not need us to 
be silent,” reminds Adams. “They need 
us to be courageous.” Looking ahead, 
she encourages us to recognize that the 
impact of this work spans generations: 
“This work is for the women who came 
before us who did not have these spaces. 
It is for the women who need these 
spaces today. And it is for the young girls 
watching us build something different 
for tomorrow.”  •

View this content as a flipbook by clicking here.