The national chief of the Assembly of First Nations blasted all levels of government on Monday, the fifth anniversary of a national inquiry’s report into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, for what she calls slow progress to stop the crisis.
Only two of the more than 150 calls to action focused on First Nations people have been implemented since 2019, Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak said.
That’s despite constant calls from advocates for more funding from all levels of government for Indigenous housing, justice and programs for LGBTQ people that they say would keep women and girls safer.
“There is a long, winding road ahead to address and prevent all forms of gender-based violence,” she said Monday morning.
“But together, with all Canadians, we remain hopeful that we can get there step by step.”
The 2019 inquiry concluded Indigenous women are 12 times more likely to go missing or murdered than their non-Indigenous counterparts.
The commission brought forward a total of 231 calls to action to help curb the epidemic.
The final report was the culmination of testimony from more than 2,380 family members, survivors, experts and knowledge-keepers over two years to understand the crisis and come together to form solutions.
Family members spoke of intergenerational trauma and the impacts of poverty as compounding factors, while knowledge-keepers highlighted how women, through colonization, have been displaced from their traditional roles.
“The steps to end and redress this genocide must be no less monumental than the combination of systems and actions that has worked to maintain colonial violence for generations,” the report read.
Five years after its publication, however, Woodhouse Nepinak said governments have abdicated their responsibilities, and inaction is not acceptable for First Nations peoples.
She said she hopes it’s not acceptable for Canadians, either.
Woodhouse Nepinak called on governments and their agencies to bring forward meaningful change, based on justice and respect for human rights, with survivors and their families in mind.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 3, 2024.