Tansi Nîtôtemtik,
ReconciliAction YEG recognizes that our discussions on MMIWG2S+ and the National Inquiry may be upsetting and/or triggering for some readers. If you require immediate emotional assistance, there is a 24/7 national crisis line available at 1-844-413-6649. This line is toll-free and provides support for anyone who requires emotional assistance related to missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. The service is available in English, French, Cree, Ojibway, and Inuktitut. Other mental health resources and crisis support will be discussed within today’s post.
This week, our team has been introducing you to the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.[1] Today, we turn to consider the mental health impacts the National Inquiry – and the gendered crisis it seeks to understand – has had on individuals, families, and Indigenous communities.
Continuous and Repeated Trauma
The National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls proceeded in three parts of what was termed the “Truth Gathering Process.” The first part was focused on gathering information from families and survivors through Community Healings and Statement Gathering events. The National Inquiry received 1484 testimonies from families and survivors through this part of its process.[2]
Several aspects of the National Inquiry’s process were undoubtedly triggering and re-traumatizing for all involved and impacted, including: appearing before the Inquiry’s commission to give testimony; sharing the stories of loved ones who have been murdered or who have disappeared; living with unanswered questions; and being uncertain as to the National Inquiry’s ultimate results. And of course there is the personal trauma experienced by survivors and by the individuals themselves who were lost and murdered, whose pain we can never truly know. Survivors, families of those who have been lost and victimized, and communities themselves live with this trauma daily. Ultimately, it is impossible to qualify the extent of the trauma experienced as such harm is ongoing and continuous and, for many, it will never end and closure may never come, even with the release of the Final Report.
Following the release of the National Inquiry’s Final Report, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC News) produced an article featuring Marie Sack, a Mi’kmaw community outreach specialist from Sipekne'katik First Nation in Nova Scotia and a member of Nova Scotia's Family Information Liaison Unit (FILU). The FILU is a group which “serve[s] as a bridge between the families of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls and provincial governments.”[3] Ms. Sack noted that “[the report] opens up all the wounds again,” and that “[i]t’s going to take [families] months to read even one section of this report, and that could be very painful, opening up their old wounds.”[4] In addition to “opening old wounds”, Sack also emphasized that “not knowing what will come from the report’s release and how the country will respond to its calls for justice can also worsen anxiety for those that testified.”[5] Although it may be difficult, Ms. Sack recommended that families “read the report ‘one step at a time,’ section by section,” and that they “seek any mental and emotional wellness supports available” to them.[6]
Resources
Advocates and the National Inquiry’s Final Report have called for trauma-informed and culturally-based counseling services to be made available to those who need it.[7]
Throughout its process, the National Inquiry offered its own aftercare services, but now, following the release of the Final Report, long-term support is specifically made available through Indigenous Services Canada. Services that are accessible include mental health counseling, emotional support, community-based cultural services, and assistance with transportation costs where such support services are not locally available. These services are set to continue until June 30, 2020.[8]
Until next time,
ReconciliAction YEG
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[1] Online: National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls <www.mmiwg-ffada.ca> [perma.cc/B2K3-GYT7].
[2] National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, “Truth Gathering Process” (last visited 12 October 2019), online: National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls <www.mmiwg-ffada.ca/how-to-participate/> [perma.cc/MYC6-F9KD].
[3] “Wellness support available for MMIWG family members reading the inquiry’s final report” CBC News (3 June 2019), online: <www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/mmiwg-national-inquiry-final-report-aftercare-mental-health-support-1.5159866> [perma.cc/YF3T-T6PK].
[4] Ibid.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Ibid.
[7] See e.g. Canada, National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, Calls for Justice, (Vancouver: Privy Council Office, 2019) calls 3.1-3.7; 7.1-7.9, online (pdf): <www.mmiwg-ffada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Calls_for_Justice.pdf> [perma.cc/C6Q5-KCJ8].
[8] Indigenous Services Canada, “Health Support Services”, online: Indigenous Services of Canada <www.rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca/eng/1548700698392/1548701361628> [perma.cc/PVP3-UADD].
