Women's Issue

MARCH 2021 | VOLUME 24 | NUMBER 3 Newspapers will not transmit the Coronavirus CPMA #40027204 By Louise Bernice Halfe they have shared with me. for Eagle Feather News Survival is not an easy task. Frankly, we as Indig- enous people are all survivors and that in itself is a I’ve been thinking of the inexhaustible list of great accomplishment. The questions that need to accomplished young Aboriginal women and the be addressed are how have I done it? Where were kehteayak or Elders who’ve been outstanding war- my glimpses of hope, encouragement and kindness? riors. Some of them are well known while others are How do I forgive myself for the mistakes I’ve made, still gathering their medicine bundles and moving the people I’ve hurt and who’ve hurt me? How do I forward. Many have overcome great adversity and gather the trust and the courage to move forward? many are single mothers. The seven Grandmothers and the concept of wa- These are my heroines: Maria Campbell, Marie hkohtowin are great cultural teachings, but difficult Linklater, Lillian Dyck, Candace Wasecase-Lafferty, to carry out. At the very least, one can use cautious Valerie Arnault-Pelltier, Holly Graham, Lorna Ar- respect. One has to live with oneself and be satisfied cand, Verna St. Denis, Lee Maracle, Judy Pelly, Peg- that they have worked at living and honoring their gy Vermette, Leah Dorian, Kateri Damm, Katherena life. These teachings have carried us for many gener- Vermette, Carol Rose GoldenEagle, Cherie Dima- ations. I haven’t met any saints and certainly I don’t line, Renae Watchman, the late Janice Acoose and fit that category. We all carry mixed bundles. numerous sixty-scoop survivors. I’m often blown continued page 2 away by the bits and pieces of their survival stories Erica Violet Lee Search for Recognition What, then, is culture without land? What is culture without self-determination? I do not want recognition from canada on being a Good NDN ... - page 22 Bonnie Leask Bernice Taypotat - Ochapowace First Nation March 2021 is our Guide us Forward Words of Wisdom Women’s I am grateful to have had many incredible laughs And we just lived in a big one-room house that with inspirational women from all around the time and we used to help my mom and dad mud. Issue world, but there’s nothing like a good laugh If the mud was coming off the building, we’d go NEXT MONTH: with First Nation, Métis, and Inuit women. Arts’n Culture and mix up straw and mud and splatter the house - page 12 - page 14 EAGLE FEATHER NEWS MARCH 2021 2 Warrior women survive and lead continued from page 1 ... It is these very gifts that call us to pay attention, to move forward, to live and to heal ourselves. We have many resources within reach if we accept responsibility and have the will to move beyond fear and mistrust. We must search for the appropriate help. No one can do it for us. As Old JP used to say, “It’s up to you.” Survival is not an easy task. Frankly, we as Indigenous people are all survivors and that in itself is a great accomplishment. The questions that need to be addressed are how have I done it? At times it may feel like one is going through a maze, and with some steps forward there will be a few back. Progress is slow but worth it. Our children, grand- children, our land, the winds, waters are dependent on us. We must rekindle the fire, the spirit within. awasis yearns to live. There is a host of other Indigenous women, younger women, answering the call. Women like Rachel Fiddler, Josha Rafael, Hannah St. Denis, Omeasoo Wahpasiw and many, many more. There are also many silent warriors. The list is less important. What is, is that they are Louise “Sky Dancer” Halfe is one of Canada’s most distinguished poets. Award winning author of walking, celebrating and opening the way. They are all four books of poetry, Louise was recently appointed as the new Canadian Parliamentary Poet Laure- my heroines and I am proud to be a nehiyaw iskwew. ate. MARCH 2021 EAGLE FEATHER NEWS 3 Ongoing genocides examined on International Women’s Day By Betty Ann Adam delays - waiting for trial, where they were found not “That’s genocide when we look at Kimberly Squir- for Eagle Feather News guilty. rel’s death,” Tait said. “There needs to be alternatives. It needs to start “They’re our sisters and brothers and they need On International Women’s Day, the tragic freez- long before those women went to Pine Grove,” she not be in those places where they are not able to be ing death of Kimberly Squirrel and the atrocities of said. with their family.” coerced sterilization were top of mind for First Bear agrees. Nations leaders in Saskatchewan. “Our wounded women (are in institutions) The disastrous effects of practices in the when they need more mental health services, corrections and health care systems upon In- more culture, more traditions, more of our val- digenous women are examples of ongoing ues… because of our terrible history of that be- genocide, members of a women’s panel said ing taken away from us. March 8 at Whitecap Dakota First Nation. Lawyer Alisa Lombard, who represents “We as Indigenous women… It’s been gen- more than 100 Indigenous women sterilized erations, 152 years of abuse and victimization. against their will in hospitals across Canada, You look at the incarceration rates, how they’re said that since 2015 she has taken the matter to (increasing). It is simply wrong,” said FSIN Vice governments in Canada and numerous interna- Chief Heather Bear. tional bodies. Squirrel, 34, a mother of six, had been The United Nations Committee Against released from Pine Grove women’s jail near Torture determined in 2018 it was cruel and Prince Albert on Jan. 20, when overnight tem- unusual treatment and directed Canada to peratures dropped to minus 30. Her body was “prevent, punish and repair” the damage from discovered three days later in Saskatoon. Squir- coerced sterilization, but nothing has hap- FSIN Vice Chief Heather Bear March 8, 2020 (Photo Betty Ann rel’s sister said she didn’t know Kimberly had pened, Lombard said. Adam) been released and mourned the missed oppor- Days after she spoke about sterilization in tunity to take her in. There should be more help for women with men- Switzerland, she received a call from a 29-year-old The provincial government is doing an internal tal health issues, addictions and in need of housing, woman in a hospital bed, “asking how can she undo review into release practices. she said. this?” Lombard said. Squirrel shouldn’t have been in jail in the first “We don’t want them to build a huge prison for “These are not historic occurrences. They are hap- place, says Patti Tate, executive director of the Eliza- remand situations in Saskatchewan. We want them to pening right now.” beth Fry Society, a women’s prisoner advocacy group. spend those millions of dollars… on resources in the “As systemic problems they require immediate Too many Indigenous women are kept in jail be- Indigenous community.” systemic action and systemic solutions,” she said. fore they are convicted of any crime, Tate said - 123 of Over 90 per cent of women at Pine Grove are Vice Chief Bear said there have been “many, the 190 women at Pine Grove are on remand. Indigenous, she said. many victims of that terrible genocide of our people. Tait has worked with women who have spent a Saskatchewan has half to two-thirds more people That’s still happening in this day and age and it should year in jail– sometimes because of COVID-19-related on remand than any other province, she said. not be.” EAGLE FEATHER NEWS MARCH 2021 4 Taking stock on International Women’s Day I love that International Women’s Day falls Other warriors are fighting racism and dis- the image of Indigenous womanhood. near the end of winter, just as we notice the days crimination on the front lines, where we are still The intimate, bonding conversations among growing longer and the sun shining warmer. dying and our bodies still harmed in colonial sys- women practicing traditional arts and replenish- The emotional lift that comes from nature’s tems. ing reserves of self-love glows in Tenille Camp- resurgence is not unlike the joy of the annual Erica Lee takes us on a walk in the neigh- bell’s warm words; celebration of women’s ongoing emergence from bourhood, where police too often behave like an Maria Campbell’s childhood memories of the oppression of colonial patriarchy. occupying force and small civilities can’t be tak- friendship that bridges race and culture reminds This special, women-only edition of Eagle us of the many non-Indigenous women we Feather News features the voices of some of love. This month’s Reconciliation Ally is Jean- Saskatchewan’s most prominent and respected nie Coe, who found ways to make the health Indigenous Women. system work better for many who need it most. It’s a bountiful feast to be savoured; its va- Merelda Fiddler’s deep dive into her fami- riety of flavours to be enjoyed in small bites or ly’s history and her daughter’s awakening inter- in one super-satisfying sitting. est in it shows us our own roles as strong links More Indigenous women than ever now in the chain of generations.

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