Justice for Indigenous Women Community Classroom with Founder of Project of Heart and J4IW, Sylvia Smith

Violence against Indigenous women is epidemic.

Considering:

1. indigenous women and girls only made up 4% of the total female population in Canada;
2. there are over 1,181 missing and murdered Indigenous women across Canada from 1980 and 2012. The real number can be much higher; and
3. the colonial, racist attitudes towards the death of Annie Pootoogook, an inuit artist whose body was found in the Rideau river near Parliament Hill this September, are not exceptions.

Even with the commence of the National Inquiry on the Missing and Murdered Indigenous women and girls (MMIWG), its weak terms of reference that lack the accountability of the police and justice system on solving these crimes, it is unlikely that justice for Indigenous women can be fulfilled in this process alone.

Justice for Indigenous women requires all Canadians working together.

In this Community Classroom, Sylvia Smith, founder of J4IW (Justice for Indigenous Women) and Project of Heart, a community-lead, national initiative to raise awareness of the Indian Residential Schools and teach Canadians about our true history, will deliver a workshop that seeks to lend greater transparency to the historical aspect of violence against Indigenous women, and it’s direct link to violation of the land and water in the form of resource extraction--a direct result of ongoing colonialism. Furthermore, Sylvia will also provide opportunities for us to engage in social justice actions towards reconciliation with Indigenous peoples.

7 PM
Tuesday, November 15 2016
Octopus Books
@25One Community
251 Bank St. 2nd floor

Registration Fee: $10

If you are interested in attending this Community Classroom, we kindly ask you must register with us and complete the payment BEFORE Monday, November 14 2016. Your payment of $10 reserves a spot for you and is non refundable. We appreciate your cooperation!

By participating in this workshop, you not only will take home with the information you need should you wish to partner with J4IW (Justice for Indigenous Women) and do this workshop yourself in your own community (school, faith group, etc), but also your own unique “witness piece” to the TRC: Call to Action process and be a part of the movement for justice for Indigenous peoples in this land.

To REGISTER, please use one of the following methods:

• Online: http://octopusbooks.ca/tickets/justice-for-indigenous-women-community-classroom-online-registraton
• In person: Octopus Books Centretown (251 Bank St. 2nd floor) or Octopus Books Glebe (116 Third Ave.)
• By phone: 613-688-0752

** The first 20 people registered will receive a copy of Honouring Indigenous Women Vol. 2, if you would like and don’t have a copy yet!

*** Please bring a black marker and needle-nose pliers if you’d like to create your own unique “witness piece” -- JEWELRY! Learn lots and have fun doing so. You can demonstrate your support for justice for Indigenous women and girls in Canada. A suggested donation of $20.00 would be appreciated. This covers the cost of materials and all proceeds will be given to the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society (FNCFCS).

Facebook Event Page: https://www.facebook.com/events/189716098139549/.

About J4IW (Justice for Indigenous Women):

J4IW was organized as a social justice initiative that would raise awareness around the issue of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) as well as the over-policing and under-protecting of First Nations, Metis and Inuit women and girls within Canadian society. For more info: http://www.j4iw.ca/.