Genesis House, the regional shelter for the victims of domestic violence, teamed up with Agape House in Steinbach and the Ginew Wellness Centre for a vigil last week to mark the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women.
People filled the Makoons Centre on the Roseau River Anishinaabe First Nation Dec. 7 for a ceremony that shone the spotlight on domestic violence in our communities and also honoured missing and murdered Manitoba women. A similar gathering was held in Carman the day before.
Genesis House executive director Ang Braun noted they’ve partnered with Roseau River service providers in the past on programming, but this is the first time they’ve hosted this vigil there.
“We’ve been trying to find ways to build bridges with our Indigenous neighbours,” she said. “We recognize as an organization that Indigenous woman are at a much higher risk for violence than other Canadian woman.”
Seventeen Manitoba woman have been murdered in 2023, Braun said, referring to the number shared at the provincial ceremony for the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women.
“Normally we would see around 12, which is still too high,” she said, observing that the pandemic years have exacerbated issues of domestic violence in communities across the province. “There are so many more people that are struggling.”
Ceremonies held across Canada on and around Dec. 6 mark the anniversary of the murders of 14 young women at l’École Polytechnique de Montréal in 1989.
Violence against women remains a major societal issue today, 34 years later.
“I think most people still think it’s far away from us, it doesn’t happen here, but it does,” Braun said, urging people to speak up when they see violence happening or hear inappropriate comments being made. “Call them out. I think the shift in what is acceptable has to change. And we’re all responsible for that. That’s something we can all do.
“It’s not just a women’s issue,” Braun stressed. “All of society has to take responsibility to eliminate this violence.
“As a society, we cannot and we must not tolerate this,” she said. “Living free of violence is a human right, not a privilege.”
“We remember them and keep fighting”
Last Thursday’s gathering began with a spiritual water ceremony led by Hilda Atkinson, who then shared briefly about her own experience with domestic violence and the loss of a family member to violence.
“I want to think about all the ladies that have to survive and have to go through those things. It’s really hard on people when stuff like that happens,” she said. “We will pray for them and remember them and keep fighting … to be strong.”
Jo Seenie, a Roseau River Wolf Clan member who has been involved in searching for the remains of missing Indigenous woman, shared a few thoughts about her experiences and sang a heartfelt lament in memory of the victims.
“I’ve been active for the last 17 years, volunteering in the ground search. I’ve been to many places to help search for loved ones,” Seenie said, sharing that her involvement began in the wake of her family’s own tragedies: her father was murdered in 1982 and her uncle has been missing for over 20 years.
“I walk this life because I understand what it feels like to have someone missing,” she said. “I know what it feels like to have someone murdered.
“They say time heals, but it doesn’t. You just learn how to live with it … you learn how to walk with it, and you walk with the memory of when it happened.”
Violence against woman has affected many local families, Seenie reflected.
“We also have a history of missing and murdered women here in our community,” she said, pointing to Roseau River residents like Christina Littlejohn and Mary Lisa Smith, who have been missing since 1968 and 1999, respectively.
It’s not easy helping family members search for lost loved ones, but it’s something Seenie feels called to do.
“I do my best to live my clan. There’s roles, responsibilities, duties and obligations as your clan, and that’s what I use when I go search,” she said. “I use my scent, my sight, my hearing … and mother instinct—I use what I am as a mom, I use that when I’m out there.
“I’ve learned that there’s a strength that women have,” Seenie said. “All of us moms, all of us grandmothers, we have this strength. We do anything to protect our family … when they search, they have no boundaries.”
Seenie said action needs to be taken much sooner when a family reports a loved one missing.
“They need to react right away,” she stressed. “A parent knows their child. Even if they’re struggling, they know their child or their loved ones. They know them. If something’s not right, they’re not calling [back], then react.”
The ceremony also included the reading of the names of the 14 l’École Polytechnique victims, lighting candles in honour of all victims of violence against women, a moment of silence, and an opportunity for a few other community members to share personal experiences they’ve had with domestic violence.
