You know that woman or that girl or that two spirit individual,
The one who laughs at all the jokes,
Or,
The one who works three jobs to support her family,
Or,
The one who is a helper in her community,
Or,
The one who quietly makes her way through the world.
You know her family,
You have seen them on television,
You have read articles about them,
You have seen them organizing protests.
Because that woman is missing,
Or because that woman has been murdered,
That woman is not a priority to some law enforcement agencies.
I am here to tell you that woman matters!
To her family and her community.
All they want is for her to return home or that her killer be brought to justice.
Drumbeats surround as tears are shed.
Sage is burnt as tears are shed.
Ceremonies are attended as tears are shed.
Circles are formed as tears are shed.
A national inquiry is just the first step in a long road ahead.
It will take commitment from politicians to address this matter.
Law enforcement agencies also need to get on board.
.
No parent should cry themselves to sleep at night worrying about their daughter.
No person should grieve for a lost partner taken too early,
No child should have to lose their mother this way.
The community grieves for these women.
Praying that they be returned or that their soul finds peace.
It is time for us to rise up and let our voices be heard.
What follows is my call to Indigenous women.
*I could stand in this space all day and tell you what our women, girls and two spirit individuals have gone through since the colonizers arrived.
But instead, I want to look ahead.
People talk of repatriation,
But that is not our destiny.
Rather re-matriation is what we want.
We need to restore our living culture to its rightful place on Mother Earth.
We need to redirect ourselves with a new narrative.
One of strength, hope and resilience.
We are not merely looking for decolonization,
We need to Indigenize.
Bring back our cultures and traditions, by returning to the land.
So many of our women have become silent,
Not able to bring forward what their ancestors have taught them.
We cannot sit and wait for someone to come and save us.
We need to return to the heart and go back to the original instructions.
We must be bold and have a lot of courage to reassert ourselves.
We must be fearless to change the narrative.
We must return to love,
Yes, we must return to love as we tell the stories of Indigenous women, girls and two spirit community members.
We are not Disney’s version of Pocahontas,
We are clan mothers, grandmothers, mothers, aunties, sisters, and partners.
We all have a story to tell.
We all have a future to behold.
One of peace, empowerment and living with a good mind.
Indigenous women,
Come join with me in this call to action,
Pave the way for generations to come.
Make them proud of our life stories,
From time immemorial,
To a future beyond our imaginations.
*This piece was inspired by and based on the words of Mohawk Bear clan mother Wakerahkáhtste Louise McDonald Herne
© Melanie Garant
September 17, 2024