Acknowledging the issues and dangers Indigenous women face can’t stop at one day, says Marilyn Gunner-McLeod.
The Misway Milopemahtesewin health promoter was one of the people at city hall to proclaim May 16 as Moose Hide Campaign Day in Timmins.
“This happens every day, it’s an every day thing no matter where you live,” she said. “We have to make sure that we don’t forget about it and just come back next May.”
The proclamation is important for Mushkegowuk Fire Keeper outreach worker Char Wesley.
“It needs to be recognized, and this is a great way of starting,” she said. “So that everybody knows that they’re cared for, most importantly.”
The Moose Hide Campaign started in British Columbia as a grassroots, Indigenous-led movement to get men and boys involved in ending violence against women and children. It has expanded in the last 10 years to include Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities, organizations, police forces, schools, and governments to work together to end violence against women.
The movement’s focus grew out of the deaths and disappearance of Indigenous women on northern British Columbia’s infamous Highway of Tears.
Moose hide pins can be picked up at municipal service points, such as Service Timmins, the library, and the museum.
Today, the city also proclaimed May as sexual violence prevention month.
That presentation was before the Moose Hide campaign, and many of the people stuck around for the other proclamation, saying the goals of the movements overlap.
The city has declared intimate partner violence and epidemic and added it to the Community Safety and Well-being Plan.
Timmins community program manager Meagan Baranyk said the Moose Hide campaign is an obvious choice.
“It’s geared toward ending harm against Indigenous women and girls, so I feel like that’s a very good alignment when it comes to intimate partner violence,” she said.
Getting the message out to keep women safe is an integral part of the work, said Ellevive Timmins executive director Chantal Mailloux.
“The whole month is for the prevention of sexual assault,” she said. “I feel like especially for youth, to get them thinking about what is a healthy relationship and consent, we’re really trying to focus on those things, what does it mean to be in a healthy relationship?”
Intimate partner violence rates for Indigenous women are three times higher than for non-Indigenous women, with 21 per cent of Indigenous women facing abuse from a partner compared to seven per cent of non-Indigenous women.
