Recently, a huge stride was achieved for indigenous women across the world, as the first indigenous Mrs. Universe was crowned. Not only that, but the 25 year old Cree woman from Alberta is using her win as a platform to speak up against the injustices that aboriginal women face, focusing in on the staggering 1,181 missing and murdered females. (insert stat citation). Ashley Callingbull competed in beauty pageants at a very young age. She managed to win the Enoch crown before her 9th birthday. Despite the confidence she displayed on stage she was often bullied by her peers, and recalls taunts of ‘dirty Indian’, thrown rocks, and stolen bargain-store shoes. Despite the adversity she faced, she graduated high school early, and competed in Miss
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This was the first national gathered that focused on Canada’s missing and murdered indigenous women, and a few families of the victims were there to voice their concerns. The meeting addressed the disproportionate rate of violence against aboriginal women compared to non-aboriginal women, and sought to find answers as to how to fix such a haunting problem. Poverty and racism are thought to be contributing factors, but it does not seem like the government has even the slightest will to change the nation’s views. Even worse is the notion that some parties may only be interested in the issue as it pertains to their political standings and the upcoming election, after which they will soon sweep the problem under the rug once more. Should the issue be brought forth in a more serious tone, the solution is still as distant as it was years ago. That said, there is still hope. The UN human rights committee recently accused Canada for not taking action against the cases involving missing and murdered aboriginal women. Involved in their report was the chilling fact that there was a lack of statistical information on domestic violence. This could explain the higher rate of murder among aboriginal women, since there is often less communication and justice served in First Nation reserves. The UN called for a national inquiry into the issue, and also recommended that the country take a look into the treatment of Aboriginal peoples in
This was the first national gathered that focused on Canada’s missing and murdered indigenous women, and a few families of the victims were there to voice their concerns. The meeting addressed the disproportionate rate of violence against aboriginal women compared to non-aboriginal women, and sought to find answers as to how to fix such a haunting problem. Poverty and racism are thought to be contributing factors, but it does not seem like the government has even the slightest will to change the nation’s views. Even worse is the notion that some parties may only be interested in the issue as it pertains to their political standings and the upcoming election, after which they will soon sweep the problem under the rug once more. Should the issue be brought forth in a more serious tone, the solution is still as distant as it was years ago. That said, there is still hope. The UN human rights committee recently accused Canada for not taking action against the cases involving missing and murdered aboriginal women. Involved in their report was the chilling fact that there was a lack of statistical information on domestic violence. This could explain the higher rate of murder among aboriginal women, since there is often less communication and justice served in First Nation reserves. The UN called for a national inquiry into the issue, and also recommended that the country take a look into the treatment of Aboriginal peoples in