Marching for women and kids
Indigenous-led effort helps women, children
Premier John Horgan, centre, second row, marches with Indigenous leaders on Thursday from Thunderbird Park to the steps of the legislature as part of the Moose Hide Campaign to stop violence toward women and children. The province announced $2 million in funding for the campaign, which is an Indigenous-led effort that arose in the wake of missing and murdered First Nations women in northern B.C.
A grassroots movement of men dedicated to fighting violence against women and children received an unexpected boost from the B.C. government on Thursday.
Premier John Horgan surprised organizers of the Moose Hide Campaign in a ceremony at the legislature by committing $2 million to the project.
He said the money will allow the Indigenous-led campaign to continue its work for the next four years. “It’s up to men to be standup role models for their children, so that we can once and for all eradicate violence against women and children,” he said.
Paul Lacerte, who founded the campaign with his daughter Raven Lacerte in 2011, said the premier’s announcement came as a shock.
“I understand resources are hard to come by today,” he said. “A lot of our people are suffering, a lot of our organizations really have to work hard for resources.
“So we don’t take that support lightly, premier, and we can commit to continuing to spread this good work, use those resources wisely and for good purposes.”
Lacerte and his daughter got the idea for the Moose Hide Campaign while hunting near Highway 16 in northern B.C. The corridor is known as the Highway of Tears because so many women and girls (mostly Indigenous) have been murdered or gone missing along the route.
The Lacertes decided to cut a moose hide into squares and give the pieces to men to wear as an outward sign of their commitment to ending violence against Indigenous women and children.
Since then, the movement has grown into a national campaign to engage all Canadians in ending domestic and gender-based violence. It is recognized every October by the federal government.
Scott Fraser, B.C.’s minister of indigenous relations and reconciliation, declared Thursday to be Moose Hide Campaign Day.
And Horgan handed out the one millionth moose hide square before a crowd of MLAs from all three parties.
“To look behind me and see all of these men, and the men in the crowd here, standing up for ending violence toward women and children, is really a big deal,” Raven Lacerte said.
“I feel really good in my heart when I can see that these men are taking a stand and that they’re working toward healing and bringing other men onto that healing journey.”
Members of the B.C. public service also marked the day by taking part in a ceremonial fast as a demonstration of their commitment to ending violence.
Paul Lacerte said the goal now is to keep growing the movement.
“We’ve got to one million squares of moose hide over the last seven years,” he said.
“This is now our pivot to our next objective of 10 million squares of moose hide and one million Canadians fasting together to end violence against women and children in this country.”