Treaty One Territory, Manitoba – Sagkeeng Chief EJ Fontaine issues this statement to call on the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations to address the 231 Calls for Justice of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG).
More and more First Nations women and girls continue to lose their lives at unacceptable and disproportionate rates. Sagkeeng First Nation suffers most unsolved cases of missing or murdered Indigenous women and girls and needs more preventative supports. The federal government continues to willfully contribute to the deaths of First Nations women by refusing to address root causes, refusing to follow the calls for justice for its own National Inquiry, and its refusal to commit the required resources to implement the action plan outlined in the MMIWG Inquiry’s Final Report.
“There are over 20 cases of unsolved Murdered or Missing Indigenous Women and Girls cases from Sagkeeng First Nation,” said Chief EJ Fontaine. “We need more support from RCMP to prevent violence from escalating, more women’s shelters, accessible mental health support, and places for young people to gather and be safe from predators who take them off the highway or while in the city. We must do more at the regional and national levels and work together to address the deep, structural racist and misogynistic attitudes that allow all these MMIWG cases to happen. First Nations women and girls deserve action from the federal government and deserve safety and security, free from violence and misogyny.”
Sagkeeng is holding a march this Friday, May 5th, 2023, on the National Day of Awareness Red Dress Day for Murdered and Missing Women, Girls and 2 Spirit at the First Nations Anglican Church.
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For more information, please contact:
Communications Team
Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs
Email: media@manitobachiefs.com
