Canadian Inquiry Calls Killings of Indigenous Women Genocide
Canadian Inquiry Calls Killings of Indigenous Women Genocide
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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada speaking on Monday during the closing ceremony of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls in Gatineau, Quebec.CreditCreditChris Wattie/Reuters
GATINEAU, Quebec — The widespread killings and disappearances of Indigenous women and girls in Canada are a “genocide” for which Canada itself is responsible, a national inquiry concluded in its final report on Monday. Indigenous people from across Canada cheered, and raised fists and eagle feathers, as the leader of the inquiry announced the report’s findings at an emotional ceremony in Gatineau, Quebec, that was attended by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Most in the audience were in traditional Indigenous dress and held red flowers in remembrance of the women.Some in the crowd were relatives of the disappeared and dead, and were so overcome by emotion that they had to be led away in tears by health care workers. But despite Mr. Trudeau’s assurances in his remarks that his government would take action on the report’s 231 recommendations — including changes to police practices and the criminal justice system — some Indigenous people expressed skepticism that the report would make much of a difference.
“Our people have been in a violent relationship with Canada for too long,” said Beverley Jacobs, a prominent Mohawk lawyer and the former president of the Native Women’s Association of Canada. “And when you’re in an abusive relationship and waiting for the abuser to change, but they’re not willing to change, you have to figure out how to get out of the relationship.” The report comes after a nearly three-year inquiry into murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls, during which more than 1,500 families of victims and survivors testified at hearings across the country.
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“This is genocide,” said Marion Buller, the chief commissioner of the inquiry and a retired Indigenous judge, at the ceremony, which was held at the Canadian Museum of History directly across the Ottawa River from Parliament.“An absolute paradigm shift is required to dismantle colonialism in Canadian society,” she added.After receiving the multivolume report, wrapped in a ceremonial blanket tied with a traditional Métis sash, Mr. Trudeau said, “This is an uncomfortable day for Canada but it is an essential day.”
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A memorial for Tina Fontaine sits by the Red River in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The teenager’s killing in 2014 angered many people, setting off protests and questions about the deaths of Indigenous women in Canada.CreditAaron Vincent Elkaim for The New York Times
The report said the violence against women and girls amounted “to a race-based genocide of Indigenous peoples, including First Nations, Inuit and Métis.” “This genocide has been empowered by colonial structures,” the report added.
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Marching into the closing ceremony on Monday of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls in Gatineau, Quebec, on Monday.CreditChris Wattie/Reuters
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https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/03/world/canada/canada-indigenous-genocide.html
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/06/canadian-inquiry-calls-deaths-indigenous-women-genocide-190603205428848.html
https://www.npr.org/2019/06/03/729258906/genocide-has-been-committed-against-indigenous-women-and-girls-canadian-panel-sa
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