You are loved. You are sacred. And you deserve better— Alvin Fiddler

Statement from Alvin Fiddler on the second anniversary of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Final Report

Today marks the second anniversary of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls’ (MMIWG) Final Report and its 231 Calls for Justice.

I want to acknowledge and honour the women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people who have disappeared, who were violently killed, and who have been tragically taken away from their families and communities. I acknowledge all those who loved them and who love them, who have grown up and grown old without them, and who live every day with the pain of loss and the many unanswered questions.

I also acknowledge and honour those women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people whose lives have been impacted by all forms of violence and fear.  

You are loved. You are sacred. And you deserve better.

Two years ago today, the National Inquiry issued 231 Calls for Justice to end the gendered and genocidal violence that has stolen too many of our sisters, and address the underlying social, economic, cultural, institutional and historical conditions that continue to place Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people at risk. 

I am grateful to the Commissioners of the National Inquiry for their perseverance. I honour all those who participated in the Inquiry’s truth-gathering work, the Elders and the healers who made the process possible, and the many people whose careful analysis led to these Calls for Justice.

But we know it is long past time to get to work. It is time for the rest of us to pick up the load that Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people, their allies and all those that love and honour them have been carrying alone for far too long. Now is the time that we must live up to the promise of our words when we say “our women and girls are sacred”.

I recognize and support the demand of the Native Women’s Association of Canada and others that Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people be at the centre of this work. We know that they hold the answers to “finding holistic solutions to help build the foundation that will restore Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people to their power and place”.

And so today, as leader, as a father, as a son, as a husband, and as an Indigenous man, I renew my pledge to end the violence and create a world that respects and upholds Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ as the sacred ones that they are. 

Statement from Alvin Fiddler on the second anniversary of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Final Report:

I stand with Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people to once again call on governments, institutions, industries, allies and all Canadians to end the genocide, by implementing all 231 of the Calls for Justice.  

We must live up to the promise made by the National Inquiry to support Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people to reclaim their power and place.  The job could not be more urgent, and I am ready to recommit to this work.

As Indigenous men, we must partner with and support the work leadership of Indigenous women and the work of women-led organizations. 

We must get this plan out of the Ottawa Board rooms and Zoom chats and onto the ground in Thunder Bay, Hay River, Shediac and all along the Highway of Tears. The urgency of action cannot be overstated and Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ have waited too long already.

As Elder Bernie Williams said in the National Inquiry's final report: if you're not outraged, you're not paying attention.

Let's get to work.

Editor's Note: The final report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls can be found here: https://www.mmiwg-ffada.ca/final-report/