tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/missing-and-murdered-women-and-girls-56259/articlesmissing and murdered women and girls – The Conversation2023-09-07T20:21:53Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2125942023-09-07T20:21:53Z2023-09-07T20:21:53ZA moral argument to search the landfill in Winnipeg for murdered Indigenous women<iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/a-moral-argument-to-search-the-landfill-in-winnipeg-for-murdered-indigenous-women" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>In May 2022, <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/8922166/winnipeg-police-landfill-body-found/">Winnipeg resident Jeremy Skibicki was arrested and charged with the murder of 24-year-old Rebecca Contois.</a></p>
<p>By the end of that year, Skibicki would be <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/jeremy-skibicki-winnipeg-alleged-serial-killer-timeline-1.6681433">charged with the murder of three other women</a>: Morgan Harris, Marcedes Myran and an unidentified woman who has been given the name Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe by the Indigenous community.</p>
<p>Harris, Myran and Contois were First Nations women. It is believed that Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe was also Indigenous. Their deaths are tragic additions to the missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls crisis in our country. Statistics consistently show that <a href="https://www.mmiwg-ffada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Executive_Summary.pdf">rates of violence against Métis, Inuit and First Nations women and girls are much higher than for non-Indigenous women and girls in Canada</a>. </p>
<p>In June 2022, Winnipeg police investigators <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/rebecca-contois-investigation-brady-landfill-1.6496569">recovered the remains of Contois, of the Crane River First Nation, at the Brady Road landfill</a>. They believe the remains of Harris and Myran, of the Long Plain First Nation, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/morgan-harris-marcedes-myran-rebecca-contois-homicide-winnipeg-landfill-1.6675937">are also in a landfill in a section of the Prairie Green site, just outside Winnipeg.</a> However, Winnipeg police have stated they won’t search the landfill, <a href="https://www.pressreader.com/canada/cbc-edition/20221207/281874417440353">citing feasibility and a low possibility of recovery</a>.</p>
<p>Soon after police announced their decision, the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs initiated a feasibility study for the search. The report, which involved many experts, estimated the search would take three years and cost $184 million. Most importantly, <a href="https://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/it-can-be-done-safely-experts-say-method-for-landfill-search-has-been-successful-in-the-past-1.6483156">experts indicated that a search would be viable.</a> </p>
<p>But Manitoba’s provincial government, led by Premier Heather Stefanson, declined to support a search. <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/church-leaders-landfill-search-1.6950423">She cited health and safety risks for those involved.</a> </p>
<p>However, many in the public <a href="https://winnipegsun.com/news/provincial/we-have-to-try-kinew-supports-landfill-search-says-there-are-other-options">strongly suspect</a> the provincial government’s reasons have more to do with budgets than safety and <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/landfill-search-calls-movement-momentum-1.6919046">they are increasingly voicing their opposition</a> to the refusal to support a search of the Prairie Green landfill. </p>
<p>As an Onkwehonwe (Native) scholar who studies morality and ethics in communal and societal contexts, the callous and immoral position of the Stefanson government is alarmingly familiar. I experienced the <a href="https://www.nfb.ca/film/kanehsatake_270_years_of_resistance/">Oka crisis</a> in the summer of 1990 in my home community of Kahnawake and witnessed first-hand the trauma our community experienced as a result of immoral government action.</p>
<h2>Moral responsibilities</h2>
<p>Most arguments in favour of searching the landfill for Harris, Myran and Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe focus on the well-being of their families and their communities. </p>
<p>One of the results of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has been a more expansive view of human well-being, <a href="https://www.cpha.ca/review-canadas-initial-response-covid-19-pandemic">including mental health and the impact of structural inequalities.</a> This has heightened public awareness of <a href="https://www.uregina.ca/arts/research/research-news/easing-disruption-covid19.html">government responsibilities to the population’s holistic health</a>. From this, new questions about <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1403494821990250%22%22">the moral responsibilities of government have emerged.</a></p>
<p>In this context, what moral principles should guide the Manitoba government in its decision to search the Prairie Green Landfill for these Indigenous women? </p>
<p>A fundamental principle in democratic governance in Canada is <a href="https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/responsible-government">the expectation that those elected to public office will exercise economic, political and administrative authority in a manner that is responsive to those who are governed.</a> </p>
<p>It is in the exercise of such authority that moral questions must be considered.</p>
<h2>A moral responsibility to help</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/prairie-green-landfill-search-province-1.6898205">Given the prevailing doubt around the provincial government’s refusal to search the landfill</a>, let’s consider a classic allegory offered by renowned moral philosopher <a href="https://petersinger.info/">Peter Singer</a> at Princeton University.</p>
<p>In this story, you are walking home when you encounter <a href="https://newint.org/features/1997/04/05/peter-singer-drowning-child-new-internationalist">a young person drowning in a muddy pond</a>. To help this individual, you would have to jump in and get your clothing wet and dirty. A decision must be made. </p>
<p>The cost to you to help this person are your expensive clothes and maybe being late for work. Do you help? </p>
<p>Ideally, you would agree that the state of your clothing would be an insignificant issue and that the death of the young person through drowning would be a terrible thing. Acknowledgement of these two issues and the option associated with them ought to govern your decision.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/manitobas-reasons-for-refusing-to-search-for-indigenous-womens-remains-in-landfill-are-a-smokescreen-209930">Manitoba's reasons for refusing to search for Indigenous women's remains in landfill are a smokescreen</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>It should be easy to see the parallels between Singer’s allegory and our very real situation with the Indigenous families and communities who have been traumatized by these young women’s murders and, now, retraumatized by the lack of will to recover their remains. </p>
<p>The expense associated with a search is not insignificant and not to be trivialized. However, the current trauma being experienced by the families and the community is significant. Searching the landfill would help bring emotional closure to a very traumatic situation.</p>
<p>That alone <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/8926715/we-need-closure-landfill-remains-discovery-triggers-trauma-for-winnipeg-family/">should make the decision to search rather straightforward.</a> It is in the public interest and in the interest of the well-being of the families of these murdered Indigenous women to address this problem through, among other things, a search of the landfill.</p>
<h2>Repeated government failures</h2>
<p>The failures by government to be responsive to Indigenous communities is a serious issue and one that has continued to cause long-term harm.</p>
<p>The trauma experienced by Indigenous families and communities emerging from <a href="https://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/manitoba-premier-defends-decision-to-not-search-landfill-for-bodies-of-homicide-victims-1.6489253">the refusal by the Stefanson government to search the Prairie Green landfill for their murdered loved ones</a> is undoubtedly a form of harm that is unnecessary and avoidable. </p>
<p>There should be no moral struggle with the decision to initiate the search of the landfill. Singer wrote this about his famous allegory: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“<a href="https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/get-involved/videos-books-and-essays/famine-affluence-and-morality-peter-singer">If it is in our power to prevent something very bad from happening, without thereby sacrificing anything morally significant, we ought, morally, to do it</a>.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p><a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/for-50-days-she-stood-vigil-at-a-winnipeg-landfill-an-alleged-serial-killer-is/article_a4b2eb21-e46c-58bd-a418-0b44a899a7fe.html">The ongoing trauma experienced by these families and the community is indeed a “very bad thing</a>.” And the resources necessary to search the landfill do not represent a morally significant sacrifice.</p>
<p>Search the landfill.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/212594/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Frank Deer does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Manitoba’s provincial government has declined to support a search for three murdered Indigenous women, citing health and safety concerns. An ethicist explains why this decision needs to be rethought.Frank Deer, Professor, Associate Dean, and Canada Research Chair, Faculty of Education, University of ManitobaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2115662023-08-29T20:15:17Z2023-08-29T20:15:17ZMarching to Ottawa for neglected and murdered Indigenous men: One family’s fight for justice grows<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/544478/original/file-20230824-27-q5wqwh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Amanda Snell (left) stands next to her car which has a photo of her deceased partner, Steven Dubois, taped to it. Richelle Dubois (right) stands next to a photo of her son, Haven Dubois.
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Michelle Stewart)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/marching-to-ottawa-for-neglected-and-murdered-indigenous-men-one-familys-fight-for-justice-grows" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Summer in Canada means highways filled with tourists and travellers. For many summers now, some travellers move with a specific mission on those highways: to raise awareness about <a href="https://www.tbnewswatch.com/local-news/ginoogaming-walkers-raise-awareness-of-indigenous-issues-991927">social issues facing Indigenous Peoples</a> and the ongoing harmful impacts of <a href="https://winnipeg.citynews.ca/2022/12/08/walk-to-nova-scotia/">Canada’s Indian Residential School program</a>.</p>
<p>This summer, the Dubois family from the Pasqua First Nation in Saskatchewan is taking that walk. As they march from Regina to Ottawa, their hope is to raise awareness about the vulnerabilities and systemic inequalities faced by Indigenous boys, men and Two-Spirit People.</p>
<p>Specifically, the Dubois family is hoping to get some care and raise attention about what happened to two of their deceased family members. They are <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/regina-ottawa-national-inquiry-missing-murdered-neglected-indigenous-men-boys-haven-dubois-1.6867586">also demanding a national inquiry into missing, murdered and neglected Indigenous boys, men and Two-Spirit People</a>. </p>
<p>My research focuses on racialized justice and settler colonialism. I first came to know the Dubois family in 2016 when Richelle was parked outside a Regina police station in <a href="https://regina.ctvnews.ca/mother-of-haven-dubois-stages-protest-in-front-of-regina-police-station-1.2743077">-40 C weather demanding accountability in the investigation of her son’s death</a>. We have since become friends and colleagues. I met up with the family as they began their walk.</p>
<h2>Stories from fellow travelers</h2>
<p>The cars leading the Dubois walk are covered with blue hand prints and photographs of deceased family members, Haven Dubois and Steven Dubois. The family’s march calls <a href="https://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/family-marching-to-ottawa-for-missing-murdered-and-neglected-indigenous-men-boys-and-two-spirited-people-1.6472514">attention to the death of their loved ones, but also to all Indigenous people who face institutional neglect.</a> </p>
<p>Constance Dubois, 59, <a href="https://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/family-marching-to-ottawa-for-missing-murdered-and-neglected-indigenous-men-boys-and-two-spirited-people-1.6472514">is marching for her brother Steven who she says was mistreated at their local hospital in Regina. She also walks for her grandson, Haven, who she believes was murdered</a>. </p>
<p>As they walk, the family has met many others on the road with similar stories.</p>
<p>Constance says the stories from fellow travellers have had a significant impact on her and her family: “The stories coming out while we are on the road makes us more determined to take their stories to Ottawa.” </p>
<p>Richelle Dubois, 42, is Haven’s mother. She says the stories have a common theme: “a lack of investigation and accountability.”</p>
<h2>Haven Dubois, searching for justice</h2>
<p>In 2015, Haven Dubois was 14 when he died. It was a school day and according to his school, he was on a school field trip. But instead he was found by his mother, unresponsive in a local shallow ravine in Regina.</p>
<p>According to his family, Haven was a strong swimmer.</p>
<p>The family believes Haven was murdered, and that his murder has not been investigated because it was prematurely deemed an accident. According to them, Haven had been subjected to gang recruitment and bullying prior to his death. </p>
<p>They see a flawed police investigation and <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/3407846/regina-family-calls-for-coroners-inquest-into-14-year-olds-death/">modified coroner’s reports</a>. </p>
<h2>Intimidation and disrespectful care</h2>
<p>After they rushed their son to the hospital, they say police declared their son’s death an accident before they left that day. Following his death, the Dubois family say they faced community intimidation and disrespect from police. </p>
<p>In the eight years since Haven’s death, <a href="https://thestarphoenix.com/news/local-news/ombudsman-to-look-into-teens-2015-death">the Dubois family has been fighting for a robust police investigation, exploring multiple mechanisms of police accountability.</a> The family has seen two coroner’s reports, but believe they have not seen justice. </p>
<p>Just before they left on their walk, the Dubois family finally <a href="https://regina.ctvnews.ca/regina-mom-calls-for-inquest-into-son-s-death-1.3386842">received a notice from the Saskatchewan coroner saying an inquest will be called in 2024 to investigate the circumstances of Haven’s death.</a> </p>
<p>The inquest will focus on the cause of death, but will not look at how the investigation was originally handled. </p>
<p>The Dubois family feels they have demonstrated connections <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/machiskinic-review-press-conference-1.4228796">between other flawed investigations into the deaths of Indigenous people during the same time period.</a></p>
<p>Canadian-based sociologists Jerry Flores and Andrea Román Alfaro note the role between police inaction and settler colonialism and argue it is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/08912432231171171">“through their (in)actions — what they say, tell, and do or do not do — that police affirm the disposability of Indigenous bodies, constraining the survival of Indigenous communities and consolidating settler colonialism.”</a> </p>
<h2>Steven Dubois, ‘ignored to death’</h2>
<p>Steven Dubois, 47, was a partner and father of three when he died on Feb. 8, 2022. </p>
<p>His family believes Steven received substandard care at their local hospital. Steven had been previously diagnosed with a liver disease and the family says this diagnosis impacted his care. </p>
<p>Over the course of one week, they said Steven was taken by ambulance to the emergency room three times and was released back to his family despite being in medical distress. It was only when his family refused his return by ambulance and insisted that he receive medical care that he was admitted to the hospital. </p>
<p>Once there, the family says they received mixed messages about his care and how to manage his pain. Staff said Steven was alert and responsive, but it was clear to the family he was not — he was declining rapidly. Family members can only speculate had he been adequately cared for, he may have lived longer. </p>
<p>After his death, his partner, Amanda Snell, who had maintained diligent daily logs while Steven was in hospital, wrote to health care officials demanding information.</p>
<p>The correspondence she received indicate that Steven could have received medication as frequently as every 30 minutes to manage his pain, but he received it two to six times in a 24-hour cycle. </p>
<p>Amanda says the hospital confirmed hygiene protocols were not met. </p>
<p>His daughter, Avery Snell, said: “The very people who were meant to provide care and comfort made my dad endure excruciating pain…It is now our time to stand up and seek change for injustices that Indigenous families face every day in our society. Shame on our health systems.” </p>
<p>According to research, Steven’s story is one of many across Canada’s health-care system in which Indigenous people are subject to a “<a href="https://www.nationalobserver.com/2023/04/11/investigations/anti-indigenous-racism-health-care">pattern of harm, neglect and death in hospitals.”</a> Essentially, they are <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/Issues/IPeoples/EMRIP/Health/UniversityManitoba.pdf">“ignored to death,” </a> according to Manitoba law professor Brenda Gunn.</p>
<h2>Rising voices</h2>
<p>Critical theorist Sherene Razack writes that <a href="https://utorontopress.com/9781442637375/dying-from-improvement/">“although Indigenous people repeatedly register the connection between colonial violence and accountability, their voices are seldom heard.”</a> </p>
<p>This summer, the Dubois family have added their voices to an increasingly large demand for further inquests by the Canadian government to continue to examine the impacts of colonial violence and racism on policing, justice and health-care practices.</p>
<p>The family’s next major town will be Sault St. Marie, Ont. They anticipate arriving in Ottawa by mid-September when they are hoping to meet with representatives from the Assembly of First Nations and the federal government. To find up-to-date details of their walk, visit <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/923040697777726/">their social media page.</a></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/211566/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michelle Stewart has held funding from multiple organizations and entities including from federal contracts (for example Public Safety Canada) as well as research grants that include Tri-Agency funding. Michelle knows the Dubois family and has written in Briarpatch Magazine with Richelle Dubois as well as co-taught a community class on racialized policing.</span></em></p>This summer, one family is marching from Regina to Ottawa, hoping to raise awareness about the vulnerabilities and systemic inequalities faced by Indigenous boys, men and Two-Spirit People.Michelle Stewart, Associate Professor of Gender, Religion and Critical Studies, University of ReginaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1855652022-06-27T15:35:41Z2022-06-27T15:35:41ZAre the kids alright? Why Canada must urgently step up to ensure children’s rights<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470561/original/file-20220623-53892-fnpyrt.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4792%2C3211&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation children play in water sprinklers during National Indigenous Peoples Day celebrations in Mississauga, Ont., on June 21, 2022. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child recently issued its long-awaited <a href="https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/Treaties/CRC/Shared%20Documents/CAN/CRC_C_CAN_CO_5-6_48911_E.pdf">concluding observations</a> on Canada’s compliance with international human rights law regarding children. </p>
<p>One of the committee’s key recommendations advised Canada to establish an independent mechanism for monitoring children’s rights by receiving, investigating and addressing complaints by children in a child-sensitive, child-friendly manner. </p>
<p>As researchers in children’s rights, this recommendation did not come as a surprise to us. We have canvassed all human rights laws in Canada and determined these laws generally don’t guarantee child-sensitive and child-friendly processes. </p>
<p>Much more needs to be done to respect the human rights of children in Canada in keeping with international human rights law and the recommendations made by the UN committee. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/covid-19-provinces-must-respect-childrens-rights-to-education-whether-or-not-schools-reopen-in-september-142802">COVID-19: Provinces must respect children's rights to education whether or not schools reopen in September</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Children as rights bearers</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/convention-rights-child">The Convention on the Rights of the Child</a>, ratified by Canada in 1991 and <a href="https://www.unicef.org/child-rights-convention#:%7E:text=In%201989%2C%20world%20leaders%20made,children's%20lives%20around%20the%20world.">the most widely ratified human rights treaty in history</a>, recognizes children as rights bearers.</p>
<p>Under the convention, children have the right to be heard in legal proceedings that directly or indirectly affect them. According to the former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, <a href="https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/766759?ln=en">access to justice is a fundamental right on its own, but also an essential prerequisite for the protection and promotion of all other human rights.</a> </p>
<p>Simply put, legal proceedings that aren’t adapted to the needs and realities of children may have a negative impact on other human rights. Because children play an increasingly important role in litigation involving the most pressing human rights issues of our time — including climate change and reconciliation — efforts must be made to ensure that legal processes are child-sensitive and child-friendly.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Drummers beat their drums at a large gathering with mountains in the background." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470572/original/file-20220623-51375-cavjae.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470572/original/file-20220623-51375-cavjae.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470572/original/file-20220623-51375-cavjae.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470572/original/file-20220623-51375-cavjae.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470572/original/file-20220623-51375-cavjae.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470572/original/file-20220623-51375-cavjae.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470572/original/file-20220623-51375-cavjae.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Drummers play and sing during a May ceremony to mark the one-year anniversary of the discovery of the remains of 215 children at an unmarked burial site at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School in Kamloops, B.C.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Are children’s rights human rights?</h2>
<p>There has been a recent proliferation of child-initiated legal proceedings. <a href="https://www.amnesty.ca/legal-brief/environnement-jeunesse-enjeu-v-attorney-general-canada/">For example, ENvironnement JEUnesse, a youth-led environmental group, is seeking to sue the government of Canada for its failure to take action to curb climate change</a>, claiming that it amounts to a violation of their rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. </p>
<p>Despite recent youth leadership in human rights litigation, our research has shown that few Canadian courts and administrative tribunals are equipped to deal with legal proceedings concerning the human rights of children in a child-sensitive and child-friendly manner. </p>
<p>In fact, in five Canadian jurisdictions, human rights laws — which are meant to promote equality in society — tacitly permit discrimination against children and youth on the basis of their age. </p>
<p>For example, the <a href="https://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/ontario-human-rights-code">Human Rights Code of Ontario</a> excludes people under 18 years old in the definition of age. This means that it’s legal in Ontario for a service provider — like a restaurant or a store, for example — to refuse to serve a meal to a young person under 18 or to sell them a pair of shoes on the basis of their age.</p>
<p>What’s more, apart from Québec, no human rights commission or tribunal in the country has specific rules of procedure to ensure that complaints are dealt with in a child-sensitive and child-friendly manner. It’s therefore no surprise that the UN committee criticized Canada for failing to have an independent mechanism for monitoring children’s rights and urged it to put one in place. </p>
<h2>A success story</h2>
<p>But does this mean that all human rights litigation in Canada is conducted in a manner that is not child-sensitive or child-friendly? Not exactly. </p>
<p>In fact, there are some success stories that saw decision-makers place the needs and best interests of children at the heart of how they dealt with human rights cases even when not required to do so by law or rules of procedure. </p>
<p>One shining example of this is <em>Caring Society v Canada</em>, a case before the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal regarding Canada’s discriminatory treatment against First Nations children in its provision of public services to them. “This decision concerns children” was the first sentence of the <a href="https://www.canlii.org/en/ca/chrt/doc/2016/2016chrt2/2016chrt2.pdf">historic 2016 ruling by the tribunal asserting the equality rights of more than 165,000 children and it perfectly captures how the litigation was conducted.</a></p>
<p>The case was a veritable showpiece on how to conduct a human rights proceeding in child-sensitive and child-friendly manner.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A man in a blue shirt wearing an eagle necklace embraces a woman." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470557/original/file-20220623-51658-2w9vtx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470557/original/file-20220623-51658-2w9vtx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470557/original/file-20220623-51658-2w9vtx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470557/original/file-20220623-51658-2w9vtx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470557/original/file-20220623-51658-2w9vtx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470557/original/file-20220623-51658-2w9vtx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470557/original/file-20220623-51658-2w9vtx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Assembly of First Nations National Chief Perry Bellegarde embraces Cindy Blackstock, First Nations Child and Family Caring Society Caring Society executive director, as they speak about the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal regarding discrimination against First Nations children at a 2016 news conference.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Firstly, the tribunal incorporated “the best interest of the child” in its legal interpretation of the <a href="https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/h-6/">Canadian Human Rights Act</a>. In particular, it ruled that for Canada to comply with its legal obligations under the act, it must consider the best interests of First Nations children in the design and provision of services to them. </p>
<p>Secondly, the tribunal allowed children to participate in the hearings in various age-appropriate ways. For example, children sang a song at the beginning and end of the hearing and the proceedings were televised to make them accessible and free to children across the country. </p>
<p>The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal also ensured that the space was welcoming for children by setting aside rooms in which they could eat, leave their coats and bags and discuss the case with their schoolmates. </p>
<p>Finally, the tribunal did not require children and youth to testify about the harm they experienced as a result of discrimination <a href="https://thetyee.ca/News/2021/09/29/Indigenous-Kids-Win-Court-Rejects-Ottawa-Bid-Human-Rights-Order/">to find the Canadian Human Rights Act had been breached and to order compensation to be paid to the children</a>.</p>
<p>This prevented children and youth from being re-traumatized to have access to remedies they’re entitled to due to the violation of their human rights.</p>
<h2>What now?</h2>
<p>It’s deeply troubling that human rights processes in Canada generally do not provide for child-sensitive and child-friendly processes and in fact, often exclude protection of children against age-based discrimination. </p>
<p>The good news is that decision-makers can look to <em>Caring Society v Canada</em> <a href="https://lawjournal.mcgill.ca/article/the-complainant-the-canadian-human-rights-case-on-first-nations-child-welfare/">as an example to follow</a> when it comes to overseeing legal proceedings concerning the human rights of children in a manner that is sensitive to their needs and child-friendly. </p>
<p>As children in Canada increasingly step up in important leadership roles in human rights advocacy, they’re long overdue to be recognized as human rights bearers. This means human rights processes across the country must be accessible to and welcoming for children, and an independent mechanism for monitoring children’s rights must be put in place.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/185565/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anne Levesque is a fellow with the Broadbent Institute. Along with Professors Mona Paré (Principal Investigator/Project Director) and Daniella Mento (Collaborator), she received an Insight Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) to conduct the research mentioned in this article. She is also one of the lawyers who represented the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada in its human rights complaint leading to a landmark victory in 2016 that affirms the right to equality of over 165,000 First Nations children.
</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Malorie Kanaan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Under international law, children have the right to be heard in legal proceedings directly or indirectly affecting them. Canada must step up to ensure all human rights apply to kids as they do adults.Anne Levesque, Assistant professor, Faculty of Law, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of OttawaMalorie Kanaan, LLM droit, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of OttawaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1578502021-04-26T12:11:50Z2021-04-26T12:11:50ZUS landmarks bearing racist and Colonial references are renamed to reflect Indigenous values<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/395136/original/file-20210414-15-82dd7i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C8792%2C3777&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">In Ames, Iowa, a creek previously named after an offensive term for Native American women is now called Ioway Creek.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Sarah Dees</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A creek running through the city of Ames in central Iowa was officially <a href="https://www.kcci.com/article/iowas-squaw-creek-renamed-ioway-creek/35542715">renamed</a> from Squaw Creek to Ioway Creek in February 2021, after a yearlong process that involved local and federal agencies. The previous name is now considered an <a href="https://doi.org/10.17953/aicrj.40.2.sockbeson">offensive reference</a> to Native American women. The creek’s new name honors the original Indigenous inhabitants of the area, the <a href="http://ioway.nativeweb.org/index.htm">Ioway or Baxoje</a> nation. </p>
<p>(I have used the full earlier name of the creek, only this one time, for clarity. Later in the piece I will refer to it as “sq—w,” to emphasize that it is a slur.) </p>
<p>The City Council of Ames had <a href="https://www.cityofames.org/home/showpublisheddocument?id=54303">voted unanimously</a> in January 2020 to change the name. Its decision affirmed a similar vote earlier that month by the Story County Board of Supervisors. These votes were in <a href="https://www.amestrib.com/story/news/2021/03/07/ioway-creek-offensive-name-change-indigenous-native-teen-led-cause-ames-iowa-squaw-creek-council/6779440002/">response to a petition</a> filed by an Ames resident, which itself was preceded by <a href="https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/2019/11/21/board-delays-action-squaw-creek-name-change-proposal/4257160002/">long-standing interest</a> from Native American students in initiating a change.</p>
<p>As a <a href="https://sarahedees.com/research/">scholar of American and Indigenous history</a>, I have studied representations of Native American cultures in American public history and memory. While seemingly a minor local issue affecting residents of a few counties in Iowa, the renaming of Ioway Creek is part of a larger trend throughout the Midwest and the country. </p>
<p>This trend involves changing Native-inspired place names from slurs or markers of Euro-American conquest to names that reflect Indigenous <a href="https://unmpress.com/books/wisdom-sits-places/9780826317247">languages</a>, <a href="https://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/mark-my-words">histories</a> and <a href="https://www.pbs.org/education/blog/decolonizing-the-map-creating-the-indigenous-mapping-collective">mapmaking</a>.</p>
<h2>Respect for Native history</h2>
<p>One example of this occurred in 2016 in the Black Hills of South Dakota, an area with <a href="https://www.hcn.org/issues/53.1/indigenous-affairs-social-justice-the-battle-for-the-black-hills">religious and political significance</a> to the Lakota and other Native nations. Harney Peak – named after a <a href="https://rapidcityjournal.com/news/local/life-of-harney-controversial-peak-namesake-was-both-killer-and-peacemaker/article_102f7573-a098-502d-a3e5-166fa88260a2.html">U.S. general</a> infamous for killing Native Americans – was <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/harney-peak-south-dakota-renamed-black-elk-peak">renamed Black Elk Peak</a>, honoring a <a href="https://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/bison-books/9780803265646/">revered Lakota leader</a>.</p>
<p>A similar change occurred in Minnesota, home to <a href="https://mn.gov/portal/government/tribal/mn-indian-tribes/">Dakota and Anishinaabe communities</a>. The largest lake in Minneapolis had been named after John C. Calhoun, the Southern politician who supported slavery and the <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/40581582">dispossession of Native Americans</a> from their homelands in the South through the 1830 <a href="http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/tserve/nattrans/ntecoindian/essays/indianremovalc.htm">Indian Removal Act</a>. The <a href="https://www.startribune.com/bde-maka-ska-name-stays-supreme-court-says/570435552/">Minnesota Supreme Court affirmed</a> in 2020 that the Department of Natural Resources had the authority to rename the lake <a href="https://www.startribune.com/is-it-bde-maka-ska-or-lake-calhoun-official-name-of-minneapolis-lake-still-unsettled/510713592/">Bde Maka Ska</a>, meaning “White Earth Lake” in Dakota.</p>
<h2>Replacing racist and sexist slurs</h2>
<p>Media studies scholar <a href="https://journalism.uoregon.edu/people/directory/dmerskin">Debra Merskin</a> has studied the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10646175.2010.519616">use and effects</a> of the term “sq—w” in literature and public discourse. She argues that language is never neutral, and that the derogatory term evokes <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/25088595">stereotypes of Native women</a> as servile – confined to a life of drudgery and sexual favors. </p>
<p>This is especially important considering what some activists describe as an <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/apr/11/deb-haaland-interior-missing-murdered-native-americans-unit">epidemic of violence</a> against Native American women. They are <a href="https://www.hcn.org/articles/tribal-affairs-why-native-american-women-still-have-the-highest-rates-of-rape-and-assault">2.5 times more likely</a> than members of any other ethnic group to experience intimate partner violence. As documented by legal scholar <a href="https://indigenous.ku.edu/people/prof-sarah-deer">Sarah Deer</a>, a citizen of the <a href="https://www.mcn-nsn.gov/">Muscogee (Creek) Nation</a>, this is due in part to jurisdictional issues that limit the prosecution of non-Native men who <a href="https://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/the-beginning-and-end-of-rape">assault Native American women</a> on reservations.</p>
<p>Native American women also face higher rates of <a href="https://www.thelily.com/violence-against-indigenous-women-is-a-crisis-deb-haalands-new-missing-murdered-unit-could-help-advocates-say/">murder</a>, prompting the creation of a federal <a href="https://www.doi.gov/news/secretary-haaland-creates-new-missing-murdered-unit-pursue-justice-missing-or-murdered-american">unit</a> to address the issue.</p>
<p>Some opponents to the Ioway Creek name change have pointed out that the term “sq—w” originally was not offensive. Historical sources support this point. The 1910 <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Handbook_of_American_Indians_North_of_Me/p-U-AAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&kptab=overview">Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico</a>, published by the Smithsonian Institution, contains an entry for “sq—w.” </p>
<p>According to this entry, it was derived from a term used by the Narragansetts, whose original homelands are on the Eastern Seaboard, to refer to “an Indian woman.” This source notes that Euro-Americans picked up the term from the Narragansetts and spread it beyond its original context – which is not uncommon when different <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/american-indian-languages-9780195140507?cc=us&lang=en&">linguistic groups</a> come into contact.</p>
<p>However, the original meaning of words can shift over time, and “sq—w” has developed <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/squaw">derogatory connotations</a> since the mid-20th century. In its notes on usage, the <a href="https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195392883.001.0001/m_en_us1293597?rskey=q7pBzX&result=3">Oxford American Dictionary</a> explains that “the word cannot now be used in any sense without being offensive.” </p>
<p>In 2015, the now-defunct news site Vocativ conducted a study of <a href="https://www.vocativ.com/news/244179/racial-slurs-are-woven-deep-into-the-american-landscape/index.html">place names</a> that include racial slurs and found that those containing “sq—w” were the most pervasive. </p>
<p>This particular slur has engendered multiple name changes throughout the U.S. in recent years — among them a <a href="https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/squaw-valley-ski-resort-changes-name-trnd/index.html">ski resort in California</a>, a <a href="https://www.wxpr.org/post/wisconsin-geographic-names-council-approves-new-name-oneida-vilas-county-lake#stream/0">lake in Wisconsin</a>, a <a href="http://ttm-reg.onecount.net/onecount/redirects/index.php?action=get-tokens&js=1&sid=&return=https%3A%2F%2Ftriblive.com%2Flocal%2Fvalley-news-dispatch%2Fsquaw-run-road-in-fox-chapel-will-become-hemlock-hollow-road%2F&brand=tstTL&sid=1fvnapg3hnkcnsobctn8o30h87">road in Pennsylvania</a> and a <a href="https://www.boston.com/travel/travel/2021/04/09/trustees-of-reservations-changes-offensive-name-of-monument-mountain-trail">mountain peak in Massachusetts</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A 1960 Winter Olympics sign hangs on a ski resort in California that is named using a derogatory term for Native women" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/396154/original/file-20210420-17-1ge2xn5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/396154/original/file-20210420-17-1ge2xn5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/396154/original/file-20210420-17-1ge2xn5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/396154/original/file-20210420-17-1ge2xn5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/396154/original/file-20210420-17-1ge2xn5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/396154/original/file-20210420-17-1ge2xn5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/396154/original/file-20210420-17-1ge2xn5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A California ski resort that hosted the 1960 Winter Olympics was named using a slur for Native American women.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/RacialInjusticeSquawValleyRenaming/2efac77279f54e49b9e11505b6f85ce1/photo?Query=rename%20indigenous%20names&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=4&currentItemNo=1">Haven Daley/AP</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Name changes reflect cultural changes</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/core-science-systems/ngp/board-on-geographic-names">U.S. Board of Geographic Names</a>, or BGN, holds a long-established authority over geographic place names in the U.S. It considers changes for names that are <a href="https://geonames.usgs.gov/docs/pubs/DNC_PPP_JAN_2021_V.2.1.pdf">derogatory or offensive</a> and does not approve any new place names that fall into those categories.</p>
<p>In 1963, the <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/12/11/945040041/why-do-so-many-places-in-texas-have-negro-in-their-name-despite-a-law-against-it">BGN decided</a> that any place names containing the derogatory slur used to refer to African Americans would be changed. It made a similar decision for the slur referring to Japanese people in 1974. </p>
<p>All other offensive terms must go through the process followed in Ames: An individual submits an official request that the BGN then considers, with input from local entities. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.sites.google.com/view/geonamesact/about-this-campaign">collective</a> of geoscientists is currently advocating for a <a href="https://eos.org/articles/racist-slurs-in-place-names-have-to-go-say-geoscientists">more proactive process</a> for updating racist names. The <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/8455/text?r=1&s=1">Reconciliation in Place Names Act</a>, introduced in 2020 by then-U.S. Rep. Debra Haaland, would require the BGN to identify and change racist place names instead of waiting for individual proposals. </p>
<p>[<em>Over 100,000 readers rely on The Conversation’s newsletter to understand the world.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=100Ksignup">Sign up today</a>.]</p>
<p>While the BGN is the official federal clearinghouse and arbiter of name changes, it does rely on input from civic, county, state and tribal governments. Many states have their own <a href="https://www.cogna50usa.org/state-geographic-names-authorities">advisory committees</a> that respond to requests received by the BGN. When deliberating the Ioway Creek name change, officials in Ames and Story County <a href="https://www.amestrib.com/story/news/2021/02/16/squaw-creek-renamed-to-ioway-creek-ames-iowa/6773413002/">consulted with tribal historic preservation officers</a>, <a href="https://www.iowastatedaily.com/news/iowa-state-daily-iowa-creek-name-change-ioway-creek/article_e60b084c-7615-11eb-8699-1759810b94c6.html">local experts and residents</a>. This reflects a growing trend of collaboration and consultation among civic and state governments with tribal nations.</p>
<p>Ultimately, the goal of this process is not to erase history. Rather, it’s to include a fuller representation of stakeholders in deliberations about the significance of sites with shared – and sometimes conflicting – cultural significance.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/157850/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sarah Dees does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The name change of a local creek in central Iowa reflects broader national trends that are recognizing derogatory or racist connotations.Sarah Dees, Assistant Professor of American Religions, Iowa State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1572512021-03-18T21:06:06Z2021-03-18T21:06:06ZIndigenous youth are playing a key role in solving urgent water issues<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/390201/original/file-20210317-19-1vrs7nm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=30%2C175%2C3941%2C1931&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Youth with Music for the Spirit & Indigenous Visual Arts work on projects about relationships with water at Six Nations of the Grand River.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Elaine Ho)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Unsolved environmental problems, a national mandate to uphold treaty responsibilities and a new appreciation for <a href="https://native-land.ca">positive treaty relationships</a> are leading some water researchers to consider new approaches to their work. They are examining <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10661-020-08570-1">how water monitoring practices that are conventionally considered strong, can be improved</a>. </p>
<p>Recent research examined how water quality monitoring in the lower Grand River and nearby Lake Erie can inform management <a href="https://6ff4e7e4-cc7a-4c33-9790-a58aef3bc978.filesusr.com/ugd/536b70_cb71347471e141da94b752c7e298c706.pdf">to address prolific growth of nuisance algae</a>. Nuisance algae affect wildlife habitats and fishing, as well as swimming and boating. This work is part of the <a href="https://uwaterloo.ca/lake-futures/">Lake Futures Group at the University of Waterloo</a> and <a href="https://gwf.usask.ca/">Global Water Futures</a>, Canada’s largest water research collaboration. </p>
<p>This research was a collaboration with <a href="https://www.musicounts.ca/2018/11/14/meet-the-community-recipients-music-for-the-spirit">Music for the Spirit & Indigenous Visual Arts</a>, a youth-led program that provides space for expression, learning and guidance for <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqJGkbiZ-r8">over 40 students at Six Nations of the Grand River</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A framed drawing next to a paddle hung on a wall." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/390187/original/file-20210317-19-1q6ai3h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/390187/original/file-20210317-19-1q6ai3h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390187/original/file-20210317-19-1q6ai3h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390187/original/file-20210317-19-1q6ai3h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390187/original/file-20210317-19-1q6ai3h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390187/original/file-20210317-19-1q6ai3h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390187/original/file-20210317-19-1q6ai3h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">From Waterlily series: ‘Waterlily’s Unravelling,’ digital drawing, and ‘Behind the Falls,’ paddle (double-sided), by Adriana Johnson, on display at the Carolinan Cafe.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Adriana Johnson)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Indigenous and treaty perspectives</h2>
<p>Some water researchers are looking to a teaching from the Mi'kmaw culture that can enable a more <a href="https://www.watercanada.net/feature/is-your-water-management-as-diverse-as-your-communities">holistic understanding of a watershed</a>, including interactions between land and water and the social-ecological contexts surrounding them. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CY-iGduw5c">Etuaptmumk</a>, or “Two-Eyed Seeing” is about learning to see from one eye with Indigenous knowledge, from the other eye with western science and integrating the knowledge <a href="https://6ff4e7e4-cc7a-4c33-9790-a58aef3bc978.filesusr.com/ugd/536b70_58fcc01b6fcc4c59b3c2dc1d22758994.pdf">to see with both eyes open</a>. </p>
<p>With such approaches, water scientists and managers look to Indigenous cultural teachings, community intergenerational stories and records as well as western science.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/its-taken-thousands-of-years-but-western-science-is-finally-catching-up-to-traditional-knowledge-90291">It's taken thousands of years, but Western science is finally catching up to Traditional Knowledge</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The Grand River — named O:se Kenhionhata:tie (“Willow River”) in the Kanien’kéha:ka (Mohawk) language — is Southern Ontario’s largest and most populated watershed. It drains into the eastern basin of Lake Erie — named from Erielhonan in the Iroquoian language spoken by the Erie people, meaning “long tail.” About 80 species at risk are found in the watershed. The Grand River and contributing waters are home to more than half the fish species in Canada, resulting in a world-class fishery.</p>
<p>The watershed is home to roughly <a href="https://www.grandriver.ca/en/our-watershed/Our-Watershed.aspx">one million people who reside in 39 municipalities and two First Nations territories</a>: the <a href="http://www.sixnations.ca/">Six Nations of the Grand River First Nation</a> — Canada’s largest Indigenous population and the only place in North America where all six Iroquois nations reside — and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9tOv3epq5E">the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation</a>. </p>
<p>Three treaties apply to the Grand River watershed: </p>
<ol>
<li><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwTIjDzodi4">The Two-Row Wampum</a> that recognizes distinct but equally valued cultures living together but separately, without interference from each other. </p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SiU5uvGXhxA">The Dish With One Spoon</a>, a treaty to collaboratively maintain the health of lands, waters and wildlife.</p></li>
<li><p>The <a href="http://www.sixnations.ca/LandsResources/HaldProc.htm">Haldimand Proclamation of 1784</a>, which designated six miles (about 10 kilometres) on either side of the Grand River — from headwaters to Lake Erie — as permanent Six Nations of the Grand River territory. Six Nations Lands and Resources notes that today the Six Nations of the Grand River community lives on <a href="http://www.sixnations.ca/SNGlobalSolutionsBookletFinal.pdf">approximately 46,000 acres, a base that is less than five per cent of the original 950,000 acre grant from the Haldimand treaty</a>. </p></li>
</ol>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Ink drawing of turtle with straw." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/390181/original/file-20210317-17-uohrvr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/390181/original/file-20210317-17-uohrvr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390181/original/file-20210317-17-uohrvr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390181/original/file-20210317-17-uohrvr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390181/original/file-20210317-17-uohrvr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=596&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390181/original/file-20210317-17-uohrvr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=596&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390181/original/file-20210317-17-uohrvr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=596&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">From plastics pollution series: ‘Plastic Beach,’ ink, by Steve Johnson.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Steve Johnson)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Building relationships, reciprocity</h2>
<p>Taking a collaborative research approach of documenting Six Nations youth perspectives on water with Music for the Spirit & Indigenous Visual Arts involved a shared process: </p>
<ol>
<li><p>Investing time to build relationships (our process required over a year of building relationships and developing the exhibit concept). Community members Paul General (former Six Nations wildlife manager and artist) and Tayler Hill (youth leader with Music for the Spirit & Indigenous Visual Arts) also supported this process.</p></li>
<li><p>Ensuring participants can contribute in meaningful ways. For example, I, Elaine, as a doctoral researcher, had to grow intercultural competency. The youth artists further developed their skills to ensure they could produce either independent or collaborative artworks for this project.</p></li>
<li><p>Ensuring reciprocity is part of the process. In this project, Six Nations community members asked to have youth insights amplified by seeking opportunities where they could be widely shared.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Acknowledging and enacting reciprocity means that collaborative research should not be pursued to serve the needs of western science, and that research is flexible to accommodate community interests.</p>
<p>The above considerations shaped the development of an ethical framework for the project. It is important to challenge ethical processes that apply a single set of western or empirical criteria to all activities, including those involving Indigenous communities. A <a href="https://doi.org/10.1139/facets-2020-0005">growing literature can guide this process</a>.</p>
<p>Together, we explored one way of sharing Six Nations youth perspectives with non-Indigenous community members and water managers. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="collage about chemical spills" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/390179/original/file-20210317-19-oq3e3l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/390179/original/file-20210317-19-oq3e3l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390179/original/file-20210317-19-oq3e3l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390179/original/file-20210317-19-oq3e3l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390179/original/file-20210317-19-oq3e3l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390179/original/file-20210317-19-oq3e3l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390179/original/file-20210317-19-oq3e3l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">From Grand River chemical spills series: ‘Grand Chemical Spills 2,’ photographic collage, by Paityn Hill.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Paityn Hill)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Looking at the river: Many stories</h2>
<p>Youth from Music for the Spirit & Indigenous Visual Arts used different artistic media accompanied by stories to describe their relationships with water. In some cases, these were their responses to the question: “What do you see when you look at the river?” </p>
<p>Themes that emerged were plastics pollution, <a href="https://www.granderiestudy.ca/post/art-in-depth-missing-and-murdered-indigenous-women">Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls</a>, drinking water, <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/6505250/brantford-spill-grand-river/">Grand River chemical spills</a> and Waterlily (a cultural story transmitted in oral history). </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-mmiwg-report-a-call-for-decolonizing-international-law-itself-118443">The MMIWG report: A call for decolonizing international law itself</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The youth art and stories were profiled in the <a href="https://www.granderiestudy.ca/post/grand-expressions-has-launched">Grand Expressions art exhibit</a>. This exhibit was displayed at the Carolinian Café in Cayuga, Ont., near Six Nations territory on the Grand River, before being shared virtually due to the pandemic. THEMUSEUM in Kitchener, Ont., later <a href="https://themuseum.ca/exhibitions/past-exhibitions/alarm-2">featured the virtual exhibit</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/390158/original/file-20210317-17-1d4730l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/390158/original/file-20210317-17-1d4730l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390158/original/file-20210317-17-1d4730l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390158/original/file-20210317-17-1d4730l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390158/original/file-20210317-17-1d4730l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390158/original/file-20210317-17-1d4730l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390158/original/file-20210317-17-1d4730l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Haldimand County Water and Wastewater division staff were among those who visited the Grand Expressions exhibit at the Carolinian Cafe in Cayuga, Ont.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Artist Ashley Cattrysse explored the <a href="https://www.granderiestudy.ca/tour">connection between water and women</a>. She wrote: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Indigenous women share a sacred connection to the spirit of water. As water keepers their responsibilities are to protect and nurture. Among their roles, women across Canada are raising awareness to draw attention to the water crisis faced in Indigenous communities and Canada. As depicted in this piece, the message is stop, listen, act, prepare, join. However, this is not the only crisis in Canada.… The colour red represents the missing and murdered Indigenous women.” </p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A figure holds a hand up that is painted red." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/390458/original/file-20210318-15-gyrs95.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/390458/original/file-20210318-15-gyrs95.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=764&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390458/original/file-20210318-15-gyrs95.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=764&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390458/original/file-20210318-15-gyrs95.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=764&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390458/original/file-20210318-15-gyrs95.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=960&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390458/original/file-20210318-15-gyrs95.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=960&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390458/original/file-20210318-15-gyrs95.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=960&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">From Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls series: ‘Water Keeper,’ canvas, by Ashley Cattrysse.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Ashley Cattrysse)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Artist Hannah Wallace-Lund <a href="https://www.granderiestudy.ca/tour">contributed an image</a> depicting summer camp participant Chase in front of water coolers holding a water drum. She wrote:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“It reminded me as someone who has grown up outside Six Nations that even though we all as onkwehon:we people care deeply for water, some of our relatives live without clean drinking water.… I grew up next to the Grand River and many of my strongest and happiest memories from then involve the river. To keep the river and Lake Erie clean should be the responsibility of all those who have lived beside them and received their many gifts, not just Indigenous people.”</p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A young man with lacrosse stick in front of bottled water jugs." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389792/original/file-20210316-22-16txuvv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389792/original/file-20210316-22-16txuvv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389792/original/file-20210316-22-16txuvv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389792/original/file-20210316-22-16txuvv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389792/original/file-20210316-22-16txuvv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389792/original/file-20210316-22-16txuvv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389792/original/file-20210316-22-16txuvv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">From drinking water series: untitled photograph, by Hannah Wallace-Lund.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Hannah Wallace-Lund)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Articulating principles</h2>
<p>An analysis of common themes in the youth’s stories identified recommendations,
most of which were statements of values. These were synthesized with perspectives from 21 water managers, western scientists and subject-matter experts <a href="https://6ff4e7e4-cc7a-4c33-9790-a58aef3bc978.filesusr.com/ugd/536b70_8f617cd6d53c4b588629604250a438e9.pdf">interviewed as part of the larger study</a>.</p>
<p>The result was 10 principles for guiding water monitoring and management. For example, that water is finite; impacts are shared but are unequally distributed; we will manage as stewards and treat waters as living; and that managers should measure and enhance community experiences as part of watershed health.</p>
<p>Our co-created, arts-based approach can be effective <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29O0vCawdrc">for engaging youth and diverse community members not just for water management</a> but <a href="https://6ff4e7e4-cc7a-4c33-9790-a58aef3bc978.filesusr.com/ugd/536b70_1448906e7d50402aaaa4913f7d7bc100.pdf">all aspects of sustainable planning</a>. </p>
<p>Relationships formed during this research lay the foundation for meaningful Canadian-Indigenous cooperation, especially in the context of our most important shared resource: water.</p>
<p><em>This exhibit would not have been possible without the efforts of Tayler Hill, Jordon and Whitney from the Carolinian Café and Laurel McKellar at THEMUSEUM. Elaine notes there are no words to express appreciation for the cross-cultural bridging that was supported by the positive and energetic involvement of Richelle and Tayler. Thank you.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/157251/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Elaine Ho receives funding through the Lake Futures group (part of Global Water Futures) in the form of University of Waterloo Graduate Research Studentships, funded primarily by the Canada First Research Excellence Fund. This research was also supported through an Ontario Graduate Scholarship jointly funded by the Province of Ontario (two thirds) and the University of Waterloo (one third). She is affiliated with the Canadian Rivers Institute and Global Water Futures/Lake Futures.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Richelle Miller does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Collaborative research sought to document Six Nations youth perspectives shared through art and story to inform principles for water management in the lower Grand River.Elaine Ho-Tassone, PhD Candidate, Social and Ecological Sustainability program in Integrated Water Management, School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability, University of WaterlooRichelle Miller, Community partner, Co-ordinator of Music for the Spirit & Indigenous Visual ArtsLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/963292018-07-15T18:51:12Z2018-07-15T18:51:12ZEveryday terrorism: A woman or girl is killed every other day in Canada<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/226036/original/file-20180703-116143-13ytz7f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Women gather outside of the Vancouver Art Gallery in 2013 to dance as a part of the One Billion Rising movement, a global campaign by women for women which calls for the an end to violence against women. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>One woman or girl is <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-femicide-occurs-on-regular-basis-in-canada-data/">killed every other day</a> in Canada.</p>
<p>This is not a new fact nor does it represent a new trend. For 40 years, this fact has varied little; similarly, rates of other forms of violence against women and girls have <a href="http://www.swc-cfc.gc.ca/violence/strategy-strategie/gbv-vfs-en.html">remained persistently stable</a>. </p>
<p>Violence is a product of our culture. So, too, are our responses to violence when it occurs. Therefore, systemic and <a href="http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/44147/?sequence=1">cultural transformation is required</a>. </p>
<p>This is a daunting task, but can be achieved with small steps. We can begin by changing the public discourse around the killing of women and girls by calling it <a href="http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/77421/WHO_RHR_12.38_eng.pdf?sequence=1">femicide.</a> We can identify and challenge problematic beliefs, <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1524838009334131">attitudes and stereotypes that influence behaviours</a> that lead to male violence against women and girls. We can learn how to better respond to these forms of violence when they occur. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/226040/original/file-20180703-116126-1whgdq4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/226040/original/file-20180703-116126-1whgdq4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=413&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226040/original/file-20180703-116126-1whgdq4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=413&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226040/original/file-20180703-116126-1whgdq4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=413&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226040/original/file-20180703-116126-1whgdq4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=519&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226040/original/file-20180703-116126-1whgdq4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=519&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226040/original/file-20180703-116126-1whgdq4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=519&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">People read and pay tribute at a memorial for the victims along Yonge Street the day after a driver drove a rented van down sidewalks, striking pedestrians in his path, in Toronto in April 2018.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/24/americas/toronto-van-attack-victims/index.html">mass killings in Toronto this spring</a> by accused Alek Minassian and his reported involvement in a misogynistic online movement provides a concrete and horrifyingly real example of the way misogynistic hate can kill both women and men. The last time we focused on misogynistic hate with such vigour followed the 1989 mass femicide at École Polytechnique at the Université of Montréal. </p>
<p>Now (some) people are listening. Only time will tell if actions will follow.</p>
<p>But one woman or girl has been killed every other day in this country for more than four decades. This was a fact before and after the 1989 mass femicide at École Polytechnique. It was a fact before the van killings in Toronto.</p>
<p>It will continue to remain a fact until we change public discourses, challenge negative attitudes, and acknowledge how inadequate our responses currently are to violence against women and girls.</p>
<h2>Everyday terrorism</h2>
<p>We need to recognize that terrorism comes in many forms and perhaps the most dangerous terrorists are not those recognized and prioritized as such by our government. </p>
<p>Why does a large group of women or girls need to be killed to attract public attention? Most women and girls who are killed every other day in this country were the sole victims of their killers, which is perhaps the reason their deaths received little or sustained attention.</p>
<p>Our biggest national threat may not be external, but internal, resting on ideologies that are equally damaging — misogyny and male entitlement. Intimate or domestic (household, not country) terrorism is the most prevalent type of terrorism in our country, experienced primarily by women, and often their children, at the hands of male partners. </p>
<p>Rather than step up the threat level, however, “intimate” terrorism appears to <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0011392115611192">mitigate the actions of perpetrators.</a></p>
<p>Women are also terrorized outside of their intimate relationships with men and often live with conscious or unconscious daily fears as they try to go about their everyday lives.</p>
<p>And we continue to believe that we are incapable of responding to this type of terrorism — if its existence is even acknowledged. </p>
<p>Our government works tirelessly to reduce our risk to external terrorist threats. These are deemed to be preventable. We need to stop accepting the belief promoted by some that there is nothing we can do about these other forms of everyday terrorism experienced by women and girls. They are often portrayed as seemingly random acts, but they are preventable. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/226037/original/file-20180703-116132-1l99t35.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/226037/original/file-20180703-116132-1l99t35.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=373&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226037/original/file-20180703-116132-1l99t35.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=373&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226037/original/file-20180703-116132-1l99t35.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=373&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226037/original/file-20180703-116132-1l99t35.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=469&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226037/original/file-20180703-116132-1l99t35.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=469&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226037/original/file-20180703-116132-1l99t35.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=469&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Women gather to protest against violence towards women in front of the Montreal courthouse on the anniversary of the Polytechnique massacre, where a lone gunman killed 14 women students at the University of Montreal technical school.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Feminists and others have worked to prevent violence against women and girls for decades in this country and worldwide. They have long recognized the role of misogynistic hate as a key contributor to male violence against women and have lobbied tirelessly to have it recognized as such. Misogyny — literally, the hatred of women — can be addressed by changing our culture.</p>
<h2>Focus on community and society</h2>
<p>In light of the #MeToo movement and other initiatives that have gained momentum and underscore the daily reality of the lives of girls and women, not only in Canada, but worldwide, how can we shine light on this issue of violence against women and girls?</p>
<p>One answer is to focus less on changing individuals and more on <a href="http://www.who.int/violenceprevention/approach/ecology/en/">changing the larger community or society in which we all live</a>. We need to look at our social and state responses and the cultural values that they reflect back to us. Cultural values that highlight these acts as individual problems rather than the result of social structures and ideas built on gender and other inequalities. Cultural values that discount some victims because of who they are and where, how and by whom they were killed. </p>
<p>We know that equitable access to justice for all women and girls in Canada does not exist in life or in death — particularly for Indigenous women and girls.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/226034/original/file-20180703-116126-9295qj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/226034/original/file-20180703-116126-9295qj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226034/original/file-20180703-116126-9295qj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226034/original/file-20180703-116126-9295qj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226034/original/file-20180703-116126-9295qj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226034/original/file-20180703-116126-9295qj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226034/original/file-20180703-116126-9295qj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Joyce Arthur, left, a board member at the Providing Alternatives, Counselling and Education Society (PACE), leads a red umbrella march to recognize International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers, in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, B.C., in December 2016.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Our cultural values are reflected back to us in the legislations, policies and programs that our governments prioritize and support. Therefore, we need to pay attention to state responsibility and accountability because it generates, in part, the environment in which we live — our broader culture.</p>
<p>If initiatives are to be effective, those who are tasked with designing and implementing legislation and policy must recognize the seriousness of violence against women and girls. </p>
<p>If those tasked with imposing laws and policies — locally and nationally — continue to hold negative attitudes, beliefs and stereotypes that work to perpetuate and maintain male violence against women and girls, the most well-intentioned legislation or policy will remain just that — progress on paper, but not in reality. </p>
<p>This crucial focus was underscored by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences in a special event in May at the 27th Session of the United Nations Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice. The focus was state responsibility and accountability in ending impunity for femicide —gender-related killing of women and girls.</p>
<p>The event coincided with the release of the most recent volume on femicide by the Academic Council on the United Nations System, with the same focus: <a href="https://acuns.org/femicide-volume-ix-femicide-state-accountability-and-punishment/">Femicide, State Accountability and Punishment</a>. </p>
<p>Violence against women and girls is everyday terrorism that affects more than half the Canadian population — half the world’s population. The threat is real for all women. Indigenous women and girls, in particular, are under siege in Canada, and their deaths are often seemingly treated with impunity. </p>
<p>We need to recognize this fact immediately. According to the Canadian Femicide Observatory for Justice and Accountability, at least <a href="https://femicideincanada.ca/mid2018report">78 more women and girls have been killed in Canada in the first six months of this year.</a></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/96329/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Myrna Dawson currently receives funding from Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and the Canada Research Chair program. She is a member of the Domestic Violence Death Review Committee, Office of the Chief Coroner of Ontario. </span></em></p>We tend to pay attention to mass killings and terrorism. But one girl or woman is killed every other day in Canada. If we identify that as terrorism, we might pay more attention and do something.Myrna Dawson, Professor and Canada Research Chair in Public Policy and Criminal Justice, University of GuelphLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.