Post by blackcrowheart on Nov 18, 2005 22:59:11 GMT -5
Disappeared aboriginal women not forgotten
Posted: November 14, 2005
by: Matt Ross / Indian Country Today
Pressure exerted on Canadian government, police to change attitudes
OTTAWA - More than three months have elapsed since Gwenda Yuzicappi last saw her 19-year-old daughter, Amber Redman, who disappeared in rural Saskatchewan. Particularly troubling is how there are no further leads in the case following this presumed abduction.
''Of the people they've interviewed, 102 days later I'm still exactly where I was from day one,'' said Yuzicappi. She presented her story during an Oct. 24 press conference on Parliament Hill in commemoration of the one-year anniversary of ''Stolen Sisters: Discrimination and Violence against Indigenous Women in Canada,'' a report released by Amnesty International.
Held in conjunction with the Native Women's Association of Canada, the event brought attention to the disproportionate number of First Nations women who have been abducted while ''Stolen Sisters'' highlights how these severe felonies have not been deemed a priority by numerous police forces.
Amnesty International's involvement with this crisis demonstrates that this is a case of human rights violations.
NWAC President Beverley Jacobs acknowledged that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police has made strides recently in bridging the cultural and historical gaps between Native populations and law enforcement. However, she said she thinks the disappearance of aboriginal women is not taken seriously by those sworn to uphold the law.
''When it comes to all of Canada and different jurisdictions, the provincial police are not affiliated with the RCMP: so what we're saying is to develop a national policing strategy for all police so there aren't jurisdiction problems when an aboriginal woman goes missing,'' Jacobs said.
''Stolen Sisters'' charges how police agencies nationwide, combined with public apathy, have led to racist behavior, directly or inadvertently. In comparing investigations to the disappearances of women from other races, the report stated how indigenous Canadian women are not treated fairly and are at a higher risk of becoming victims.
Though no official statistics have been kept, the number of missing and murdered First Nations women is estimated at 500 over the past 30 years. Public inquiries have determined one of the reasons behind these targeted murders is how aboriginal women are perceived as members of society.
Craig Benjamin of Amnesty International said aboriginal women are specifically chosen to be victims of abductions and sex-related crimes because the perpetrators believe they can escape justice; and because police want to avoid the delicate issue of racism, race-based statistics are not gathered.
''Social attitudes within the white population, part of which is the lack of regard to [aboriginal women's] worth and humanity, we see time and again a factor against the action towards indigenous women and there's almost an acceptance [of this],'' said Benjamin.
When Redman disappeared in Fort Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan, on July 15, she was only separated from her party for a short time. Clues revealed by her mother, including the fact that Redman's purse remained in the car in which she arrived, indicate she was hastily taken.
Yuzicappi remembers her daughter as having ''a beautiful personality and very humorous ... she is a beautiful Dakota woman.'' Although Redman's last known whereabouts - a local bar - might lead to some assumptions, her mother quickly dispelled any notion that this abduction was forthcoming.
''There's that myth with respect to First Nations women [that they do] drugs, or they drink, or are prostitutes; but I find that unacceptable,'' Yuzicappi said during a phone interview. ''My daughter was not a prostitute. And yes, she liked to have fun with her friends.''
NWAC believes the estimate of 500 disappearances is in fact too low. Jacobs said the first priority is to trace any patterns regarding missing women by poring through police records, and eventually create a biography of those killed by interviewing family members.
''We want to ensure these women are treated as human beings and that they have come from somewhere, and not how the media have portrayed these stereotypes,'' said Jacobs.
Jacobs doesn't buy into the excuse that stereotypes of aboriginal women should be any reason to dismiss missing person reports that have been filed.
''If family members know they've been gone and they want to report them missing, why isn't there an all-out call as they do for non-aboriginal women?''
One of the 12 proposals by ''Stolen Sisters'' includes ''expanding programs which provide advocates to assist Indigenous people in their contacts with police and with courts.'' Other funds to be received by NWAC will be directed at social services to coordinate these efforts.
''This is a human rights abuse that can only be corrected with a coordinated plan of action within the range that assures all levels of government [and agencies] are going to take action,'' Benjamin said. ''[Police action] can't take place in a vacuum and without reform of police policy, it's going to be very hard for these programs to succeed.''
While Amnesty International, NWAC and other aboriginal groups look forward to changes in Canadian values and practices, Gwenda Yuzicappi has returned to Saskatchewan in anticipation of the day her daughter comes home.
''We are all mothers, parents; and no matter what our background is, we are all human beings. Please don't forget about my daughter, Amber Redman.''
Posted: November 14, 2005
by: Matt Ross / Indian Country Today
Pressure exerted on Canadian government, police to change attitudes
OTTAWA - More than three months have elapsed since Gwenda Yuzicappi last saw her 19-year-old daughter, Amber Redman, who disappeared in rural Saskatchewan. Particularly troubling is how there are no further leads in the case following this presumed abduction.
''Of the people they've interviewed, 102 days later I'm still exactly where I was from day one,'' said Yuzicappi. She presented her story during an Oct. 24 press conference on Parliament Hill in commemoration of the one-year anniversary of ''Stolen Sisters: Discrimination and Violence against Indigenous Women in Canada,'' a report released by Amnesty International.
Held in conjunction with the Native Women's Association of Canada, the event brought attention to the disproportionate number of First Nations women who have been abducted while ''Stolen Sisters'' highlights how these severe felonies have not been deemed a priority by numerous police forces.
Amnesty International's involvement with this crisis demonstrates that this is a case of human rights violations.
NWAC President Beverley Jacobs acknowledged that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police has made strides recently in bridging the cultural and historical gaps between Native populations and law enforcement. However, she said she thinks the disappearance of aboriginal women is not taken seriously by those sworn to uphold the law.
''When it comes to all of Canada and different jurisdictions, the provincial police are not affiliated with the RCMP: so what we're saying is to develop a national policing strategy for all police so there aren't jurisdiction problems when an aboriginal woman goes missing,'' Jacobs said.
''Stolen Sisters'' charges how police agencies nationwide, combined with public apathy, have led to racist behavior, directly or inadvertently. In comparing investigations to the disappearances of women from other races, the report stated how indigenous Canadian women are not treated fairly and are at a higher risk of becoming victims.
Though no official statistics have been kept, the number of missing and murdered First Nations women is estimated at 500 over the past 30 years. Public inquiries have determined one of the reasons behind these targeted murders is how aboriginal women are perceived as members of society.
Craig Benjamin of Amnesty International said aboriginal women are specifically chosen to be victims of abductions and sex-related crimes because the perpetrators believe they can escape justice; and because police want to avoid the delicate issue of racism, race-based statistics are not gathered.
''Social attitudes within the white population, part of which is the lack of regard to [aboriginal women's] worth and humanity, we see time and again a factor against the action towards indigenous women and there's almost an acceptance [of this],'' said Benjamin.
When Redman disappeared in Fort Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan, on July 15, she was only separated from her party for a short time. Clues revealed by her mother, including the fact that Redman's purse remained in the car in which she arrived, indicate she was hastily taken.
Yuzicappi remembers her daughter as having ''a beautiful personality and very humorous ... she is a beautiful Dakota woman.'' Although Redman's last known whereabouts - a local bar - might lead to some assumptions, her mother quickly dispelled any notion that this abduction was forthcoming.
''There's that myth with respect to First Nations women [that they do] drugs, or they drink, or are prostitutes; but I find that unacceptable,'' Yuzicappi said during a phone interview. ''My daughter was not a prostitute. And yes, she liked to have fun with her friends.''
NWAC believes the estimate of 500 disappearances is in fact too low. Jacobs said the first priority is to trace any patterns regarding missing women by poring through police records, and eventually create a biography of those killed by interviewing family members.
''We want to ensure these women are treated as human beings and that they have come from somewhere, and not how the media have portrayed these stereotypes,'' said Jacobs.
Jacobs doesn't buy into the excuse that stereotypes of aboriginal women should be any reason to dismiss missing person reports that have been filed.
''If family members know they've been gone and they want to report them missing, why isn't there an all-out call as they do for non-aboriginal women?''
One of the 12 proposals by ''Stolen Sisters'' includes ''expanding programs which provide advocates to assist Indigenous people in their contacts with police and with courts.'' Other funds to be received by NWAC will be directed at social services to coordinate these efforts.
''This is a human rights abuse that can only be corrected with a coordinated plan of action within the range that assures all levels of government [and agencies] are going to take action,'' Benjamin said. ''[Police action] can't take place in a vacuum and without reform of police policy, it's going to be very hard for these programs to succeed.''
While Amnesty International, NWAC and other aboriginal groups look forward to changes in Canadian values and practices, Gwenda Yuzicappi has returned to Saskatchewan in anticipation of the day her daughter comes home.
''We are all mothers, parents; and no matter what our background is, we are all human beings. Please don't forget about my daughter, Amber Redman.''