Sing Our Rivers Red & Rise Up! Spoken Word Event

Description

This memorial exhibit brings attention to the hundreds of missing, and murdered Indigenous women of Canada. The numbers of missing and murdered Indigenous women in the United States has not even been counted. It has been estimated that in Canada over 2,000 Indigenous women have gone missing and or been murdered over the last 20 years. This is a personal area of discussion for me, my cousin Pecha Atkinson daughters, Nina Courtepatte was 13 years old when she murdered in Edmonton in 2005, and my best childhood friends Roxane Fleming- Copeland has been missing from our home town of Lillooet, British Columbia, for over 20 years, and my other best childhood friend Marlene Bob was killed by a hit and run driver in BC in 1981, they were all Indigenous Women. Canada's new Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has started an Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, something which many of the victims and missing women?s families have called for, for years. Many of my students have not heard of the stories and news and events to bring awareness to Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, yet it has been in the Canadian news for many years. It is important that we discuss this and the violence against women that is so evident both in the USA and Canada. Many students and people in Canada have carried out walks, runs, and events to bring awareness to this, the SORR exhibit brings a much needed awareness to the epidemic of violence against Indigenous women. Dr. Paulette Steeves, psarchaeo@gmail.com. The Sing Our Rivers Red (SORR) events aim to bring awareness to the epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women and colonial gender based violence in the United States and Canada. The events strive to raise consciousness, unite ideas and demand action for Indigenous women, girls, Two Spirit and LGBTQQIA people who have been murdered or gone missing, tortured, raped, trafficked, and assaulted, who have not had the proper attention or justice. SORR also is being planned in solidarity and with collaborative spirit, meant to support the efforts built in Canada, as well as highlight the need for awareness and action to address colonial gender violence in the United States. Sing Our Rivers Red events recognize that each of us has a voice to not only speak out about the injustices against our sisters, but also use the strength of those voices to sing for our healing. Water is the source of life and so are women. We need to Sing Our Rivers Red to remember the missing and murdered and those who are metaphorically drowning in injustices. We are connecting our support through the land and waters across the border. https://singourriversred.wordpress.com/