Everyday, more stolen Aboriginal women: Where is their justice?
Reports estimate that between 583-3000 indigenous women have gone missing or have been murdered in Canada since the 1980s. Indigenous and non-indigenous women continue to go missing every day. These disappearances often remain unreported, under-investigated, and unsolved.
What: Stolen Sisters- Roundtable Discussion
When: March 10th 6:00 p.m
Where: McGill Faculty of Law, 3644 Peel Street, room 312-316

The general lack of information or proper coverage and the absence of police investigations of missing and murdered women raise concerns. Recent federal government funding cuts to women’s shelters and aboriginal research and awareness-building centres such as the Sisters in Spirit Campaign have many fearful the issue is being swept aside. Speakers will share their perspectives on the scope and factors that exacerbate the situation, and the actions necessary to address the continued disappearance of our sisters.

“We are holding this exchange to honour Aboriginal women and to remind the government and the public that these stolen women cannot be forgotten. The government has neglected to concretely address the very real and valid fears of our mothers, sisters and daughters, as well as the broader community in Canada as evinced by cuts to programs and shelters and a lamentable absence of results about what has happened to so many women – and why? Women continue to disappear, and each and every woman’s disappearance is a mystery worth solving,” said Eden Alexander of the ALA.

The panel is part of a 13-day McGill-based program focussed on increasing awareness about violence against aboriginal women and is organized by the McGill Aboriginal Law Association (ALA) and the McGill Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism.

What: Stolen Sisters- Roundtable Discussion
When: March 10th 6:00 p.m
Where: McGill Faculty of Law, 3644 Peel Street, room 312-316
Who: Gladys Radek and Bernie William Poitras founders of Walk4Justice. The grassroots movement raises awareness about issues related to missing and murdered aboriginal women throughout Canada through well-publicized walk events. Gladys launched the campaign after her niece went missing on Highway 16, also known as the Highway of Tears. Bernie took up the campaign after losing her mother and two of her sisters to violence.

Craig Benjamin national campaigner for the human rights of Indigenous peoples with Amnesty International Canada. In addition to his work at Amnesty International, Craig works with indigenous communities in Latin America and South East Asia on a wide range of rights issues from traditional knowledge protection to peacebuilding.

David Hugill author of Missing Women, Missing News: Covering Crisis in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside which examines media coverage of the arrest and trial of Robert Pickton who was convicted of murdering 26 women. The book demonstrates how news narratives obscured the complex matrix of social and political conditions that made it possible for so many women to simply ‘disappear’ from a densely populated urban neighbourhood without provoking an aggressive response by the state.

For more information or to schedule an interview, contact:

Eden Alexander, McGill Aboriginal Law Association
eden...@mail.mcgill.ca

For additional information on the event, and the entire 13 day program:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=187538704618886
http://13daysinhonourof.wordpress.com/
Or by contacting the Aboriginal Law Association:
ala....@mcgill.ca

About the Aboriginal Law Association (ALA) and the McGill Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism
The ALA is a group of McGill Law students committed to raising awareness about legal issues affecting aboriginal Canadians. ALA members seek to expose students at the faculty to the legal traditions of aboriginal peoples. The ALA is a non-hierarchical club open to everyone.

The McGill Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism aims to deepen transdisciplinary collaboration on the complex social, ethical, political and philosophical dimensions of human rights. The current Centre initiative builds upon the human rights legacy and enormous scholarly engagement found in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.