The Importance Of Massing And Missing Indigenous Women

MISSING AND MURDERED INDIGENOUS MEN: Despite the pressure on the federal government to launch a national inquiry into murdered and missing Indigenous women, a number of media outlets and blogs have been discussing Indigenous men’s attitudes toward Indigenous women. For example, Bernard Valcourt, who was the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada from February 22nd, 2013 to November 3rd, 2015, stated that “if we [are] honest here,” it is obvious that “there [is] a lack of respect for women and girls on reserves” and “if the guys grow up [on the reserve] believing that women have no rights, that’s how they are treated” (Kennedy). The RCMP recently confirmed Valcourt’s claim that 70 per cent of Indigenous women’s murderers …show more content…
A 2006 Census Canada report that looked at the homicides of Indigenous women and men showed that between 1997 and 2004 there were 329 Indigenous men murdered, compared to 141 Indigenous women (Anderson and Innes 2). Though murder statistics regarding Indigenous men are also difficult to obtain, some recently published statistics illuminate the issue. In May 2014, Vice Online published a story outlining the work of Jen Mt. Pleasant, who has been searching various online databases for information about missing and murdered Indigenous men. Mt. Pleasant’s research found that over 600 Indigenous men have gone missing or been murdered since the 1950s (Troian). In August 2014, the Toronto Star published a story asserting that Indigenous men are murdered at a higher rate than Indigenous women. It is also believed that the number of murdered Indigenous men could be closer to 2,000 for the years between 1980 and 2012 (Innes 48). Although Valcourt’s comments are consistent with the data that suggest that an overwhelming majority of Indigenous men commit acts of violence against Indigenous women. However, it is clear that the remarks fail to acknowledge: the level of violence inflicted …show more content…
Many Indigenous men across the globe have begun to question and challenge how their current identities serve to reinforce the colonial legacy of subordination (Anderson and Innes 6). The Indigenous men are then making strides to regenerate positive expressions of the diverse range of Indigenous masculinities that reflect their contemporary realities (Anderson and Innes 6). Also, the men seeking out identities based on Indigenous understandings and that can contribute to the decolonization of Indigenous peoples (Anderson and Innes 6). Although Indigenous men do indeed benefit from male privilege, at the same time, many of these men experience a level of victimization, violence, and subordination based on their race and gender that is similar, though manifested in different ways, to that of Indigenous women, and that the oppression suffered by both is tied to the colonization and acquisition of Indigenous lands (Anderson and Innes