1. “Shrugged off and brushed to the side”: Police (Non)Responsiveness to Families of Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women and Girls 32 nd Canadian Congress on Criminal Justice Halifax, Nova Scotia October 29, 2009

2. Outline Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) Sisters In Spirit (SIS)  SIS Education  SIS Policy  SIS Research Sisters In Spirit Research Results Stolen Sisters video “Shrugged off and brushed to the side”: Police (Non)Responsiveness to Families of Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women and Girls

3. The Native Women’s Association of Canada Goal to enhance, promote and foster the social, economic and political well-being of Aboriginal women Current membership of 11 Native women’s organizations across Canada, including the Nova Scotia Native Women’s Association Incorporated as a non-profit organization in 1974 NWAC engages in national strategies aimed at legislative and policy reforms to promote equal opportunity for Aboriginal women

4. Sisters In Spirit Multi-year research, education and policy initiative addressing violence against Aboriginal women, specifically the high numbers of missing and murdered Aboriginal women and girls in Canada Better understand root causes of violence against Aboriginal women and identify measures to increase safety and well-being Honour women and girls who have been lost to violence and remember those still missing

5. Sisters In Spirit Education Sisters In Spirit Vigils: “What are you doing on October 4 th ?”  72 Vigils in 2009 across Canada  40 Vigils in 2008  30 Vigils in 2007  11 Vigils in 2006  10 Community Engagement Workshops across Canada each year  4 community education tool kits  Navigating the Missing Persons Process  Unlocking the Mystery of Media Relations  Raising Awareness  Safety Measures for Aboriginal Women

6. Sisters In Spirit Policy 1.Reduction of violence 2.Economic security 3.Access to justice 4.Reduction of the impact/number of children in the child welfare system

7. Sisters In Spirit Research Sharing, caring, trust and strength Community-based approach Research for change process Families are the experts; collaborative, reciprocal process between equal partners Methodology privileges the experiences of missing and murdered Aboriginal women, girls and their families Storytelling SIS database Limitations of research

8. Cases in Canada

9. Missing or Murdered

10. Age

11. Family Size

12. Years of Incidents

13. Clearance of Murder Cases 52% of cases cleared 43% of cases not cleared 5% unknown

14. Stolen Sisters (FahrenheitFilms & Global) video clip

15. “Shrugged off and brushed to the side”: Police (non)Responsiveness to Families of Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women and Girls Where We Have Been  Background and Literature Review Where We Are  Analysis of families of missing and murdered women’s stories about their experiences with police Where We Will Go  Discussion and Conclusion

16. Methodology “How do police respond to families of missing and murdered Aboriginal women and girls?” Discourse analysis 15 stories shared by families of missing and murdered Aboriginal women and girls Limitations:  Differences between policing agencies  Scope of interviews with families  Changing perceptions over time

17. Where We Have Been Murder a “new” issue for Aboriginal peoples/communities Colonization History of mistrust in Aboriginal-police relations  “Historic” & “Modern” Aboriginal women’s perception of police Racial profiling in policing

18. Where We Are Frustration. Apathy. Fear. Distrust. Anger. Racism and Stereotypes “A Rough Time” Communication

19. Where We Are Missing Persons Process Searches Positive Police Practices Kind. Non-judgmental. Caring. Helpful.

20. Racism and Stereotypes “Drunken Indian” stereotype  “Out partying”  “She liked to party too much!” and she was a “Native Indian and known alcohol and crack addict”  Pictures of empty beer bottles Perceptions of racism  Difference for Aboriginal women  Just “another dead Indian”  Despite being Aboriginal…

21. “A Rough Time” Strained relationships between police and families “Do you know how many women go missing downtown?” Just a number Myths  Wait one week to report disappearance  Police will wait 48 hours to take action Affecting case outcomes  Discouraged access to police service  False promises of media publicity

22. Communication 8 families received at least one update  Half received regular updates Minimum standards Family’s persistence One-sided Language barriers 2 families never received an update 3 families felt police ignored them

23. Missing Persons Process 2 missing persons reports accepted immediately 6 missing persons reports not accepted immediately  “Maybe she doesn’t want to be found”  Could not file as an adopted daughter  “Trying to brush me off” “Accepted” report—but didn’t take it seriously  “You will find her before we will”  “She’ll come home on her own” 2 weeks to 7 months for real action

24. Searches 8 families searched for their missing loved one 4 families never had police-led search “Give us some time or give us a place to look” 2 families made and distributed their own missing persons posters 4 families conducted interviews 5 families organized their own ground searches Communities stood in solidarity with families

25. Positive Police Practices Police honoured family’s request  Work with a female, First Nation officer  Police come to family home in plain clothing Police secure prime-time media coverage for missing woman Officers worked overtime without pay to find and charge murderers Dedicated officers promise to persevere on unsolved cases Police helped murdered woman’s son attend court proceedings while in custody Police introduced family to victim services Kind. Non-judgmental. Caring. Helpful.

26. Where We Will Go Violence against Aboriginal women requires immediate public attention  Barriers must be addressed and overcome Listening to communities and families is key Decolonization and reclaiming our ways of being Change on the horizon  Saskatoon Police Service Families push for justice for their mothers, daughters, grandmothers and sisters

27. Migwetch! Wela’lin! Thank you! Merci!