Speaking up

Sarah Jackson isn’t sure whether she’d feel safe calling the police if she had to.

“I fear for my life. I fear for my family’s life,” she said. “Because I could be shot.”

Originally from Alberta and of Cree heritage, Jackson feels this way in part because of Chantel Moore, an Indigenous woman who was killed by police officers in New Brunswick earlier this month – they had arrived at Moore’s home to perform a check on her well-being.

“And yet she was shot five times,” Jackson said. “It’s heartbreaking to know that these kinds of things are still going on.”

Jackson was one of hundreds who took part in a peaceful Indigenous Lives Matter walk, which was framed as a healing walk for justice, Friday in Charlottetown.

“The systemic racism that we, the Indigenous people, have to deal with on a daily, weekly, yearly basis has to be addressed,” Jackson said.

The walk started outside the George Coles building on Richmond Street and ended at Connaught Square. It was held to recognize the deaths of Indigenous people due to police violence throughout history.

Richard Lush, a Mi’kmaw man from Lennox Island First Nation, listed off the names of eight who were killed in Canada during the last two and a half months, such as Rodney Levi of New Brunswick.

“Eight losses in our communities,” he said.

He spoke once the walk was finished, sharing how he had to fight back tears before it started because of how moved he was by the support he’s received and the number of people who attended.

“I am so thankful for each and every one of you,” he said.

Every now and again he would ask a question, to which participants would respond with the same answer. Each time Lush asked it, he got louder, and by the end of the event, he was yelling and running out of breath.

“Silence?” he would yell.

“No more!” the people would yell back.

Sarah Bernard, a Mi’kmaw woman from Scotchfort, Abegweit First Nation, said she helped put together the event to acknowledge the ongoing violence that Indigenous people continue to experience – and to speak up for the lives lost.

“We shouldn’t have to feel afraid to voice our opinions,” she said. “I shouldn’t have to feel afraid.”

According to her, Indigenous women are about three times more likely to experience this sort of violence than non-Indigenous women. And she has experienced the effects of system racism firsthand, she said.

“It shouldn’t have to be a reality, but it’s my reality.”