b'MMIWGMissing and Murdered Indigenous Women and GirlsAn overview of Ontario implementationsBY ASHLEY ALBERTO ne of the everlastingwould be to seek recommendations onReport of the National Inquiry into effects of colonizationconcrete actions that governments, lawMissing and Murdered Indigenous Women is the violence faced byenforcement and others can take to solveand Girls was released. The National Indigenous women andthese crimes and prevent future ones. Inquirys Final Report reveals that girls in Canada. Indigenous womenOn December 8, 2015, the newly- persistent and deliberate human and are held in high regard in theirelected federal Liberal governmentIndigenous rights violations and abuses Nations, but patriarchy, sexism andannounced the launch of the Nationalare the root cause behind Canadas stag-racism changed the way IndigenousInquiry into Missing and Murderedgering rates of violence against Indig-women and girls were treated by bothIndigenous Women and Girls (Nationalenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA Indigenous men and non-IndigenousInquiry). On August 3, 2016, thepeople. The two-volume report calls for men and women. This is evident inGovernment of Canada announcedtransformative legal and social changes the high rate of missing and murderedthe terms of reference for the Nationalto resolve the crisis that has devas-Indigenous women and girls (MMIWG)Inquiry and appointed four commis- tated Indigenous communities across throughout Canada. sioners to lead it.the country.Despite this change in attitude andAccording to the website for theThe Final Report is comprised of perception of the roles and responsibil- National Inquiry, from the official startthe truths of more than 2,380 family ities of Indigenous women and girls,of the National Inquiry on September 1,members, survivors of violence, experts they continue to contribute to the overall2016, until the conclusion on June 30,and Knowledge Keepers shared over two health and well-being of their Nations. 2019, the commissioners led a truth- years of cross-country public hearings For years, grassroots organizationsgathering process that resulted in 15and evidence-gathering. It delivers 231 across Canada called on the federalcommunity hearings across Canada withindividual Calls for Justice directed at government to do something about thea total number of 2,386 participants.governments, institutions, social service high rate of MMIWG. This call wasThe National Inquiry wasnt withoutproviders, industries and all Canadians.left unanswered for many years as theproblems. A few high-level staffOne of the most notable takeaways number of MMIWG kept increasing andresigned amidst the work, and familiesfrom the Final Report is how violence families and loved ones struggled withcomplained about the overall process.against MMIWG is described as a geno-their loss.However, after a short extension fromcide: human rights and Indigenous While families and grassroots organ- the original due date, on June 3, 2019,rights abuses committed and condoned izations were persistent in their advocacy,Reclaiming Power and Place: The Finalby the Canadian state represent genocide it took mainstream statistics to get the publics attention. In 2014, the RCMP released the Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women: A National Oper- .every ation Overview Report that found that police-recorded incidents of missing andIndigenous murdered Indigenous women totaledwoman and girl 1,181. Families argue this number is much higher when considering bothshould feel safe unreported incidents and the unborn children of the mothers who have beenevery timemurdered or have gone missing.of every dayIn 2015, Justin Trudeau campaigned on election promises to First Nations inin every placehis platform of a renewed relationshipin Canada.with Indigenous Peoples. One of the promises he made was that immediatelyDenise Stonefish,after being elected, he would launch aChief of Delaware Nationpublic inquiry into MMIWG in Canada.at MoraviantownThe purpose of the National Inquiry 18l ISSUE 2 2019/20C hIEfS ofo ntarIoA dvocAte magazInE'