Heather Polischuk
Saskatchewan News Network
Saturday, August 16, 2008
REGINA -- Despite being separated geographically, Canada and Mexico share some terrible tragedies: Both countries are coping with the disappearances of numerous young women.
On Friday, two mothers from Mexico shared their stories during the Missing Indigenous Women Conference in Regina.
"We are united, no matter what the distance is," said Paula Flores to a thunderous round of applause from those gathered at the Conexus Arts Centre's convention hall.
Flores, who is from Juarez, Mexico, spoke through a translator as she relayed the story of the disappearance of her 17-year-old daughter, Maria. Maria was working at a factory with her father and sister when she disappeared in April 1998.
"When my daughter didn't return home, I knew something bad had happened," Flores said.
A body, later identified as Maria (although the methods used by authorities left the family in some doubt as to whether the body was actually Maria's), was found two weeks later. Flores later discovered her daughter had been kidnapped, raped and murdered.
Like Flores, fellow Juarez resident, Eva Arce, knows the pain of having a daughter suddenly go missing. Arce's daughter, Silvia, was 29 when she disappeared in March 1998 while selling cosmetic products and jewelry as a street vendor in Juarez.
"It's been a long struggle and we still don't know her whereabouts . . . ," Arce said, also through a translator. "I spent a long time searching for her. I went to bars, dance places, restaurants, and I couldn't find her."
Both mothers took on the role of amateur sleuths when police and other authorities were of little assistance. In Arce's case, information she came upon told her that the chief of police himself was directly involved in her daughter's disappearance, perhaps explaining the reluctance of the other police to do anything.
(REGINA LEADER-POST)
© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2008
Saturday, August 16
Friday, August 15
Change attitude to protect aboriginal women
Doug Cuthand
The StarPhoenix
Friday, August 15, 2008
The case of Dahleen Bosse Muskego, another missing aboriginal woman, has come to a tragic end. After a four-year search, her remains were found near Warman. A suspect has been arrested and the legal process has begun.
How many times have we heard this story repeated in the past few years? Sadly, this is all too common. Aboriginal women are treated as if they have little value. To many men, both non-aboriginal and aboriginal, the lives of these women are held cheap.
I knew Dahleen Bosse. I directed a documentary in 1998 that included her. The documentary, The Circle of Voices, was about a group of young people that wrote and mounted a play based on their personal experiences. The project was developed by the fledgling Saskatchewan Native Theatre Company.
Dahleen was one of about a dozen young people in it who were creative and focused on their future. She wanted to go to university to become a teacher, but marriage and a baby would delay that goal for a couple of years. She was a young woman from a good family who was starting out on her life's journey.
Sadly, she would become another missing aboriginal woman and her name would become a household word.
A report released by Amnesty International in 2004 brought the issue into stark reality. According to the report, aboriginal women aged 25 to 44 are five times more likely than other Canadians to die of violence. Over the past 30 years, more than 500 aboriginal women have gone missing in Canada.
The predators target those whom they perceive to be the weakest and most vulnerable. They believe that nobody will miss their victims. In some ways they are a product of a society that dismisses aboriginal women with the pejorative term, "squaw." This is our equivalent of using the "N" word to describe Afro-Americans. It's a derivative of the Cree word, iskwew, which means "a woman."
But our people, mainly the women, have been pushing back. There have been marches and vigils held for the missing women. Aboriginal women conducting a "Walk for Justice" left Vancouver on June 21 and will arrive in Ottawa on Sept. 12. They have scheduled a full day on Sept. 15 to present a petition and publicly address key issues.
Each summer in Saskatoon a vigil and walk is held for missing aboriginal women. A list of women missing or killed by violence, suicide or drug overdose is read aloud. This is a moving experience and brings the issue to a jarring reality.
Dahleen's mother, Pauline Muskego, and Gwenda Yusicappi, the mother of Amber Redman whose body was found this spring after she disappeared in 2005, deserve recognition for the fight they put up to have their daughters' cases remain in the public eye. In doing so, they and the other mothers involved raised the profile of the entire issue. Pauline Muskego put a face on the issue of missing women, and her pain has been shared over the past four years as she held an annual walk from her reserve in Onion Lake to Saskatoon.
An important lesson in this sad story is the success that was achieved by the co-operation among the Saskatoon Police Service, the RCMP and the family. According to FSIN Chief Lawrence Joseph, Saskatoon Police Chief Clive Weighill went out to the Onion Lake reserve on at least two occasions to meet with the family and community to brief them on the progress of the investigation.
It's clear that our people need to co-operate with the police forces and rely on them to do their job. In the past, there has been tension and distrust between the two parties, with aboriginal people reluctant provide information to the police. Our people now have to use the police forces to address the internal violence in our community. Gang violence and spousal abuse should be treated with zero-tolerance.
Violence against women is an issue where no group can claim the moral high ground. It is wrong to view violence against aboriginal women as an outside phenomenon. It is not simple racism. Those elements exist, but it would be a mistake to see it as a simple us versus them.
Amnesty International also raised some key points about internal violence within the aboriginal community. For example, aboriginal women were three times more likely to be victims of spousal violence in 2003, and up to 75 per cent of survivors of sexual assault are young aboriginal women under 18 years old. A disturbing 50 per cent of victims are under age 15.
The reasons are complex. It amounts to racism on the part of some, but for aboriginal men, it is an issue of power and control.
It's time the men did some soul-searching and examined their attitudes toward women. Murder and violence against women is a product of the racism and sexism that exist beneath the surface of society. Women can march and demonstrate, but it is the men who must change.
© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2008
The StarPhoenix
Friday, August 15, 2008
The case of Dahleen Bosse Muskego, another missing aboriginal woman, has come to a tragic end. After a four-year search, her remains were found near Warman. A suspect has been arrested and the legal process has begun.
How many times have we heard this story repeated in the past few years? Sadly, this is all too common. Aboriginal women are treated as if they have little value. To many men, both non-aboriginal and aboriginal, the lives of these women are held cheap.
I knew Dahleen Bosse. I directed a documentary in 1998 that included her. The documentary, The Circle of Voices, was about a group of young people that wrote and mounted a play based on their personal experiences. The project was developed by the fledgling Saskatchewan Native Theatre Company.
Dahleen was one of about a dozen young people in it who were creative and focused on their future. She wanted to go to university to become a teacher, but marriage and a baby would delay that goal for a couple of years. She was a young woman from a good family who was starting out on her life's journey.
Sadly, she would become another missing aboriginal woman and her name would become a household word.
A report released by Amnesty International in 2004 brought the issue into stark reality. According to the report, aboriginal women aged 25 to 44 are five times more likely than other Canadians to die of violence. Over the past 30 years, more than 500 aboriginal women have gone missing in Canada.
The predators target those whom they perceive to be the weakest and most vulnerable. They believe that nobody will miss their victims. In some ways they are a product of a society that dismisses aboriginal women with the pejorative term, "squaw." This is our equivalent of using the "N" word to describe Afro-Americans. It's a derivative of the Cree word, iskwew, which means "a woman."
But our people, mainly the women, have been pushing back. There have been marches and vigils held for the missing women. Aboriginal women conducting a "Walk for Justice" left Vancouver on June 21 and will arrive in Ottawa on Sept. 12. They have scheduled a full day on Sept. 15 to present a petition and publicly address key issues.
Each summer in Saskatoon a vigil and walk is held for missing aboriginal women. A list of women missing or killed by violence, suicide or drug overdose is read aloud. This is a moving experience and brings the issue to a jarring reality.
Dahleen's mother, Pauline Muskego, and Gwenda Yusicappi, the mother of Amber Redman whose body was found this spring after she disappeared in 2005, deserve recognition for the fight they put up to have their daughters' cases remain in the public eye. In doing so, they and the other mothers involved raised the profile of the entire issue. Pauline Muskego put a face on the issue of missing women, and her pain has been shared over the past four years as she held an annual walk from her reserve in Onion Lake to Saskatoon.
An important lesson in this sad story is the success that was achieved by the co-operation among the Saskatoon Police Service, the RCMP and the family. According to FSIN Chief Lawrence Joseph, Saskatoon Police Chief Clive Weighill went out to the Onion Lake reserve on at least two occasions to meet with the family and community to brief them on the progress of the investigation.
It's clear that our people need to co-operate with the police forces and rely on them to do their job. In the past, there has been tension and distrust between the two parties, with aboriginal people reluctant provide information to the police. Our people now have to use the police forces to address the internal violence in our community. Gang violence and spousal abuse should be treated with zero-tolerance.
Violence against women is an issue where no group can claim the moral high ground. It is wrong to view violence against aboriginal women as an outside phenomenon. It is not simple racism. Those elements exist, but it would be a mistake to see it as a simple us versus them.
Amnesty International also raised some key points about internal violence within the aboriginal community. For example, aboriginal women were three times more likely to be victims of spousal violence in 2003, and up to 75 per cent of survivors of sexual assault are young aboriginal women under 18 years old. A disturbing 50 per cent of victims are under age 15.
The reasons are complex. It amounts to racism on the part of some, but for aboriginal men, it is an issue of power and control.
It's time the men did some soul-searching and examined their attitudes toward women. Murder and violence against women is a product of the racism and sexism that exist beneath the surface of society. Women can march and demonstrate, but it is the men who must change.
© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2008
Thursday, August 14
Regina's 'North of Dewdney' project the focus of documentary.
Kerry Benjoe
leaderpost.com
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
REGINA -- Monica Fogel believes that drama and art have powers to provoke, enlighten, empower and inform.
Last year she created the play North of Dewdney with the Voices of Change Theatre Ensemble, which tackles the issue of missing, murdered and exploited aboriginal women. Although Fogel believes the play's message is important she thinks it's equally important to provide opportunities for youths to express themselves through the arts.
Matthew Hannah-Munns was only 12 years old when he first got involved with one of Fogel's projects called Beauty within the Beast. Ten years later he teamed up with Fogel again for the North of Dewdney project.
"(Fogel) basically got me into acting," said Fogel. "After that I just loved it so much that I went into it in high school and outside of (high school)."
Hannah-Munns said after that first project he saw a change in himself, which he credits to being on stage.
"You get a lot more self esteem for yourself, at least I did," he said. "It gave me the courage to get up in front of people and not be so worried about what they were thinking."
Not only did acting help him build his self esteem it also provided him with a positive outlet in which to express himself.
"Personally it helped if you were angry at something and if you went into play practice you could take out that anger in a constructive way," said Hannah-Munns.
He said getting involved in the theatre has also helped him understand social issues. He said prior to the North of Dewdney play he didn't know that much about the issue of missing and exploited women. He said taking on different roles and getting a message across to the audience is what he finds most interesting about acting.
"It doesn't really matter who you are, but what you get across and how you get it across," he said.
Hannah-Munns believes he would have eventually found his way to the theatre but meeting Fogel provided him with an early introduction to acting.
"The first time that I did take part I didn't feel pressured or anything. I didn't have that whole school situation where if I had started there I would be worried about peer pressure or whether or not I'm good," he explained.
He said another positive aspect of acting is meeting people and being a role model.
Fogel believes strongly that performing arts is a way to reach youths. She said working with youths like Hannah-Munns just reinforced what she already knew. Fogel said there is a real need for a performing arts school because project-based funding is very limiting.
Throughout her 10 years of working with youths she's worked with young people from all socio-economic backgrounds and the results have always been the same. Fogel said young people come out changed because they are able to develop the tools they need to express themselves.
The North of Dewdney project has been transformed into a documentary and will be aired Friday and Saturday during the International Indigenous Missing Women's Conference. Show times are Friday at 7 p.m. in the Luther College Auditorium and on Saturday at 7 p.m. in Room 215 at Luther College. Admission is free.
kbenjoe@leaderpost.canwest.com
© Leader-Post 2008
leaderpost.com
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
REGINA -- Monica Fogel believes that drama and art have powers to provoke, enlighten, empower and inform.
Last year she created the play North of Dewdney with the Voices of Change Theatre Ensemble, which tackles the issue of missing, murdered and exploited aboriginal women. Although Fogel believes the play's message is important she thinks it's equally important to provide opportunities for youths to express themselves through the arts.
Matthew Hannah-Munns was only 12 years old when he first got involved with one of Fogel's projects called Beauty within the Beast. Ten years later he teamed up with Fogel again for the North of Dewdney project.
"(Fogel) basically got me into acting," said Fogel. "After that I just loved it so much that I went into it in high school and outside of (high school)."
Hannah-Munns said after that first project he saw a change in himself, which he credits to being on stage.
"You get a lot more self esteem for yourself, at least I did," he said. "It gave me the courage to get up in front of people and not be so worried about what they were thinking."
Not only did acting help him build his self esteem it also provided him with a positive outlet in which to express himself.
"Personally it helped if you were angry at something and if you went into play practice you could take out that anger in a constructive way," said Hannah-Munns.
He said getting involved in the theatre has also helped him understand social issues. He said prior to the North of Dewdney play he didn't know that much about the issue of missing and exploited women. He said taking on different roles and getting a message across to the audience is what he finds most interesting about acting.
"It doesn't really matter who you are, but what you get across and how you get it across," he said.
Hannah-Munns believes he would have eventually found his way to the theatre but meeting Fogel provided him with an early introduction to acting.
"The first time that I did take part I didn't feel pressured or anything. I didn't have that whole school situation where if I had started there I would be worried about peer pressure or whether or not I'm good," he explained.
He said another positive aspect of acting is meeting people and being a role model.
Fogel believes strongly that performing arts is a way to reach youths. She said working with youths like Hannah-Munns just reinforced what she already knew. Fogel said there is a real need for a performing arts school because project-based funding is very limiting.
Throughout her 10 years of working with youths she's worked with young people from all socio-economic backgrounds and the results have always been the same. Fogel said young people come out changed because they are able to develop the tools they need to express themselves.
The North of Dewdney project has been transformed into a documentary and will be aired Friday and Saturday during the International Indigenous Missing Women's Conference. Show times are Friday at 7 p.m. in the Luther College Auditorium and on Saturday at 7 p.m. in Room 215 at Luther College. Admission is free.
kbenjoe@leaderpost.canwest.com
© Leader-Post 2008
Thursday, August 7
Winnipeg police seek young woman missing 2 weeks
CBC News
August 6, 2008
Police are asking for the public's help in locating a Winnipeg woman who has been missing for nearly two weeks.
Claudette Osborne, 21, was last seen in the area of Selkirk Avenue and Charles Street, in the city's North End neighbourhood, on July 24, and she is "known to frequent that area," police said.
Osborne, who also goes by the name Penny, is described as five feet seven inches tall, weighing about 145 pounds.
She has long, black hair and was last seen wearing black pin-striped pants and a black v-necked T-shirt with a ruffled collar.
Anyone with information on Osborne's whereabouts is asked to contact the police's missing persons unit at (204) 986-6050 or the police non-emergency line at (204) 986-6222.
Copyright © CBC 2008
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