Aboriginal women and girls face abnormally high levels of violence and continue to suffer the ongoing effects of colonialism in Canada. Between 2005 and 2010, the Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) documented the disappearances or murders of 582 Aboriginal women and girls over twenty years, yet the government continues to resist launching a national inquiry.
On December 1st, The Feminist Alliance for International Action (FAFIA) is launching a solidarity campaign with Aboriginal women and girls in order to highlight the discrimination they face and to put pressure on the government to take real steps to address it.
In this episode I speak with Shelagh Day and Cherry Smiley about these issues and about the campaign. Shelagh Day is a women’s rights activist, a nationally recognized human rights expert, and the Chair of FAFIA’s Human Rights Committee. Cherry Smiley, from the Nlaka’pamux (Thompson) and Diné Nations, is the Campaign Coordinator for FAFIA’s Campaign of Solidarity with Aboriginal Women.
Join FAFIA’s solidarity network here: http://eepurl.com/7N1D9
