Support for the Wellbeing of Families and Survivors of MMIWG and 2SLGBTQQIA+ People Contribution Program: Funding recipients

This project will strengthen therapeutic and cultural supports for Indigenous women and girls to reduce the threats of violence and discrimination. For example, the Aboriginal Friendship Centre of Calgary will strengthen a peer network that brings together families, friends and allies who have been affected by missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, as well as Two Spirited people. Connecting participants to various community resources will restore a sense of safety and empower resiliency. Talking circles will be one activity with our Indigenous Elders to offer cultural healing, reinforce positive cultural identity and practices. We will also design and provide workshops that will promote:

• healthy healing practices
• trauma recovery
• raise awareness on these types of violence
• explore individual and community strategies to reduce threats to our community

The Aboriginal Friendship Centre of Calgary will bring together their urban Indigenous community along with allies from mainstream society to plan and host a vigil to honour and recognize the significant losses and open wounds that remain because some individuals have not yet been found.

Some major activities the healing program will provide include, but are not limited to:

• healing gatherings, such as women and girls support groups or wellness groups
• MMIWG wellness forum
• bi-annual healing round dances
• healing kits with sacred medicines for health and wellness
• Mending Broken Hearts: Healing from Unresolved Grief Training for Women and Girls

The organization will connect with established networks and meet the Indigenous community in order to determine how often to have these healing gatherings.

The intent of this project is to offer holistic healing to the participants and to provide opportunities to address unresolved grief due to loss, as well as putting an emphasis on trauma recovery. A strong emphasis is also placed on creating safe spaces for the 2SLGBTQQIA+ community and to address the racism, bullying and lack of acceptance that is often experienced by this group of people.

This initiative will help those who have lost loved ones and are directly impacted by MMIWG by working on unresolved grief and assisting them with the trauma that arises from such losses. Empowerment of said individuals, couples and families is crucial in assisting them in achieving their full potential.

This project will provide opportunities to engage in cultural traditions and ceremonies, which include but are not limited to the following:

• mental health and emotional supports with an Elder
• one to one counselling
• sharing and caring circle
• peer support
• arts
• music
• dance
• traditional food gathering
• prep and cooking
• ceremonies such as sweat lodge, full moon and sundance.

Cree is the region’s prevalent Indigenous language and will be shared during activities and be visible in developed materials and resources, and others to be identified by participants. Participants will be invited and encouraged to share cultural knowledge and experience and lead/assist with the development and delivery of activities. Seasonal and ceremonial feasts and ceremony will be held with community for the equinoxes, solstices, and significant days such as:

• Sisters in Spirit Day
• Red Dress Day
• National Indigenous Peoples Day

Smudging will be available at all times. Activities and supports will take place in a trauma informed, culturally competent setting by a recruited project coordinator who will have been recognized and acknowledged by community as a Traditional Knowledge Keeper with experience in counselling, mental health, and a trauma informed approach.

Building from the Red Amauti commemoration project, Pauktuutit will collaborate with a representative and advisory group comprised of surviving family survivors, including Elders and youth from across Inuit Nunangat and urban cities, to determine meaningful ways to support the healing of and honour the legacies of Inuit women, girls, and LGBTQ2S individuals who are missing or have been murdered. The intent is to build awareness of the impacts of MMIWG for Inuit women, and to provide meaningful resources to build healing though self-guided activities for care, while respecting culture and traditions.

At the direction of the advisory committee, Pauktuutit will develop culturally relevant activities that support families and survivors. These activities may include celebrations of life and legacy, memorial feasts and events, provision of healing kits, the establishment of items of commemoration, holding healing gatherings, or the provision of resources to assist in the navigation of healing supports as guided by the advisory group. The activities will be with and for Inuit that promote healing, inspire hope for future generations, and raise awareness toward ending the cycle of violence and abuse.

This project seeks to expand ONWA’s existing Indigenous Victim and Family Liaison (IVFL) program as there is strong demonstrated need for specialized, culturally relevant supports for victims of MMIWG and their impacted families. The IVLF program provides support and guidance to the families of MMIWG and 2SLGBTQQIA+ peoples in navigating the culturally relevant health and wellbeing supports that are available to them.

"You are not alone" is a regional project that will cover the territory of Eeyou Itschee. It is to inform the survivors of MMIWG that they are not alone and do not have to go through the emotions alone. This will create a support group within the communities. As an extra activity, a commemorative monument representing MMIWG will be placed at the entrance of their territory – Eeyou Istchee – to remind their members that their women have not been forgotten and the survivors are not alone.

The Women of the Dawn will provide the necessary services to the missing and murdered women and their families in the City of Regina in the following areas:

• healing circles
• one to one counselling
• culturally sensitive workshops
• medicine wheel training
• traditional teachings
• cultural activities
• commemoration
• celebration
• cultural camps
• life skills