Canada | National

Valerie Taliman: Series on crimes against Native women, girls

Friday, March 25, 2011

"At 5:15 on a cold, rainy morning, two women enter the Sacred Circle, pour steaming cups of hot coffee, and move quietly to a corner to speak with Skundaal, a Haida artist and activist who leased this studio to begin carving a new totem pole in honor of women.

The 40-foot white cedar pole rests near the entrance where the women talk in low voices, sharing updates on the people they checked on overnight before departing to continue their rounds of nearby streets and alleys, keeping an eye out for women and girls in trouble.

As they leave, Skundaal and three other women return to sewing intricate Haida designs on beautiful abalone button blankets they’re making for local women to use in ceremony and the Women’s Memorial March. Later that day, other volunteers will take a shift patrolling the alleys where scores of women were murdered or were last seen.

This is not a government program. There is no funding for this work, and there’s no paperwork required to receive help. Instead, word of mouth brings people to this community space—a place where women find acceptance, heart-felt prayers, tools for survival, and hard-earned words of wisdom encouraging them to get off the streets.

The First Nations women who voluntarily patrol the dangerous streets of the Downtown Eastside are survivors, some who fought their way out of drug abuse and prostitution, and are helping others to do the same.

People call them the “moccasin mafia,” a close-knit group of about 10 aboriginal women who are not afraid to walk the streets of the DTES because they know their community. They stand up to authorities, talk down to perpetrators, and hold people accountable for their actions, including pimps and drug dealers who are responsible for much of the daily violence.

They are women warriors working for change alongside a coalition of women’s groups, families and Native leaders who have demanded police and government action for decades.

Among them is Gladys Radek, who co-founded the Walk4Justice, a nonprofit organization that raises awareness by walking across Canada to gather the names of missing and murdered women. She and Skundaal are preparing for their fourth walk from Vancouver, leaving on June 21 and arriving in Ottawa on September 19 where they will make a presentation to Parliament.

They have seen their mothers, sisters, daughters and friends murdered and dismembered, adding to the official toll of more than 600 murdered and missing First Nations women in Canada. No one wants justice more than they do, especially for youth and future generations of aboriginal women and children."

Get the Story:
The Moccasin Mafia (Indian Country Today 3/24)