'It's Always Been About the Land' will be on-going as I explore Christi Belcourt's insight; "Canadians need to connect the dots between MMIWG2S and resource extraction, between residential schools and resource extraction. Between child welfare and resource extraction. It’s always been about the land."
It is important to connect the dots between MMIWG2S and the land because they are intrinsically one. Just as the land, Indigenous women are often targeted for violence.
Indigenous women and Two-Spirit have traditionally been revered as life-givers and caregivers. This is why we say, “Our Women and Girls are Sacred.” But Indigenous women and girls, including those who are 2SLGBTQQIA, continue to go missing and murdered at a disproportionate rate. The land is a source of life, culture, and identity for us as Indigenous peoples. The destruction of the land through resource extraction, pollution, and climate change has a direct impact on Indigenous women’s safety and well-being.
In 2019 there was a report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls and it released findings of an eight-month study into links between resource extraction and violence against Indigenous women, girls and gender-diverse people. A House of Commons committee on Status of Women representing all major parties unanimously agreed it's time Ottawa forces the resource sector to start addressing its role in the crisis.
