Inquiry must reach out to vulnerable

The commission of inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls appears to be in turmoil and falling behind its tight time frame. Last week Marilyn Poitras, one of the commissioners, submitted her resignation. She was preceded by four other staff members, including the executive director, Michele Moreau.

Clearly something is seriously wrong with the commission.

So far the emphasis has been on holding hearings, but statements and stories from the families of missing women are only the tip of the iceberg.

This commission of inquiry is far different than the Truth and Reconciliation process that dealt with the tragedy of boarding schools. In that case the schools were dead and gone. There were only the survivors who were struggling with the past.

In the case of missing and murdered Indigenous women, this is an ongoing tragedy and it requires more. The hearings may be cathartic and help the grieving families, but what about the long-term solutions? The commission has to examine the roots of the issue and recommend meaningful social and political change.

To do this the commission must become more proactive and reach out to vulnerable women and girls. Addicts and sex trade workers won’t be showing up at the hearings. They survive by living day-to-day but they are the most vulnerable to sexual predators and serial killers.

These are the women who can enlighten the process. The commission needs to reach out and speak to them and get their stories. These vulnerable individuals can play a valuable role. The commission needs to reach out and interview women at risk.

In addition the commission should be soliciting submissions from social agencies and police forces. These organizations are on the front line and they work with women at risk and see the issues up front.

While it sounds disgusting, the killers sitting in jail should also be interviewed. What is their attitude toward Indian women? Do they recognize white male privilege? The chilling result is that the interviewer should be able to paint a portrait of the mind of a killer. Unfortunately their outlook is an attitude shared by many in society; it’s just that they acted.

The commission also needs to conduct some critical self-examination and research the lateral violence from Indigenous men. Much of the violence against Indigenous women comes from within our community and this commission cannot avoid it or treat it lightly. Also, we can’t continue to lay blame on boarding schools and social workers. We have to own our problems. It’s the first step in eradicating colonialism.

Which brings us to the underlying reasons Indigenous women and girls are vulnerable to violence and murder. Canada is a country that prides itself on tolerance and liberal attitudes; however, as the original inhabitants, we don’t see it that way.

Canada has serious problems of racism, both institutional and individual. Institutional racism breeds things like the Indian Act, an underfunded educated system and a paucity of health and social services. Poverty leads to poor health, both mental and physical, addictions and institutionalization. Our people have been inmates in boarding schools, youth detention and jails. This has led to a lack of ability for many of our people to be independent and make their own decisions. A steady diet of bad choices leads to more incarceration.

The commission should come to the conclusion that this situation exists because we are a people that have lost control of our lives. Throughout our history, Indian agents, social workers and politicians have all decided what is best for us. If you peel back the issues like a skin of an onion you will reach the conclusion that under colonialism we have lost control over our lives.

We have come full circle. The commission of inquiry can’t be one more process that reflects our colonial state. We can’t continue to lose control of our agenda, our lives and our future. The commission must dig deep and expose the sorry state of our women and girls and not care whose feelings are hurt.

The future of Indigenous women and girls is too important for this commission to fail.