Include Indigenous women living on the streets in MMIWG inquiry, says front-line worker

After the first public hearing for the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, set to wrap up Thursday in Whitehorse, a front-line outreach worker is wondering if Indigenous women on the streets will have a chance to be heard.

Kate Quinn, director of the Centre to End All Sexual Exploitation (CEASE) in Edmonton, wants testimony from those living at the heart of vulnerability to be included in the inquiry.

"Our women are not for sale, and we need to get the message out," said Quinn.

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CEASE has worked for 20 years to help women escape from the sex trade. Indigenous women account for almost 60 per cent of the centre's clients, despite only making up less than five per cent of Alberta's population.

Quinn said Indigenous women are automatically high-risk in the city.

"Many men assume that if there's an Indigenous woman walking down the street, or standing and having a smoke, or waiting at the bus stop, that she is working the streets. And so, that is deeply hurtful to many women. They cannot be themselves without it being assumed that they're available to these men," she said.

"These men feel entitled and they pick on Indigenous women, and that's what creates this lack of safety, and this is one reason why we have so many women among the missing and murdered."

'No one cares about us'

Data collected by the Native Women's Association of Canada (NWAC) shows that more than half — 54 per cent — of disappearances or murders of Indigenous women have occurred in the western provinces.

Amnesty International found that 17 per cent of murders of Indigenous women took place on a street, a road or a highway, compared to one per cent of murders of non-Aboriginal females.

Makayla Lafay-Cardinal, 22, came to the city from her home in the Saddle Lake Cree Nation north of Edmonton. For the last two months, she's been living on the streets because she doesn't want to return home due to ongoing trauma and family dysfunction.

She knows about the inquiry but isn't sure it would be worth participating in.

"No one cares about us," said Lafay-Cardinal. "No one wants to see us get anywhere. It makes me sad … it hurts my heart and soul."

Lafay-Cardinal said there have been countless times in which her life was in danger — it's almost a normality to her.

"I know people [men] want to kill me," she said, meaning that just because she's Indigenous, she could very well end up like the women found on the property of infamous serial killer Robert Pickton.

Although she worked the streets in the sex trade for a short time, Lafay-Cardinal is now working on getting her life together for her three young children, who are in foster care.

In the meantime, she takes her chances staying alive, relying on her culture for protection.

"I pray with tobacco and I braid my hair to keep safe," she said.

Hear from 'women who are living it'

Shilynne Dreaver, 34, has lived in the downtown area on and off for the last four years. Originally from Saskatoon, she said she grew up surrounded by violence and doesn't feel vulnerable.

"I'm by myself all hours of the night, in alleys and everything … there were so many times I should've been dead," said Dreaver. "One time I was held hostage in an apartment. I was scared but I didn't show it."

She also knows that the MMIWG inquiry is happening and said she would share her testimony, if given the opportunity, in order to help other women survive.

"The women who are living it — the inquiry should hear from us."

According to information gathered by the Native Women's Association of Canada, 70 per cent of disappearances and 60 per cent of murders of Indigenous women and girls occur in urban areas.

The Report of the Special Committee on Violence Against Indigenous Women, released in March 2014, showed that Indigenous women and girls are overrepresented as victims of sexual exploitation.

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"I hang out on the streets, I was homeless last year," said Jayda Bird, 59. "Some of these girls are taken advantage of — I've seen it."

Bird's daughter was addicted to drugs and couch-surfing, but recently moved to British Columbia to try to get sober.

At the time, as her daughter was wandering the streets, Bird said she worried day and night for her safety and wanted to patrol the streets to look out for her.

Bird said she hopes the inquiry will include crucial input from those on the front lines.

"I think it's very, very important that they get the street girls together and share their experiences on what they go through; teach them who to avoid and how to protect themselves," she said.

Quinn believes there are a number of causes that lead Indigenous women and girls to be more susceptible to violence and end up on the street.

"Racism, poverty, homelessness … our society is not welcoming of Indigenous girls and women. That's what puts them at high risk and that's why we see so many come through our network of support services," she said.

"These women must be recognized in the inquiry. Accommodate them and make sure that they have a support system during testimony."

The MMIWG inquiry will hear testimony from experts throughout the summer. It's scheduled to reconvene hearings with families in the fall.