National Day for Truth and Reconciliation: Reaffirming our Commitment to Life Long Education and Decolonial Practices
September 30th marks the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
Luke’s Place operates on the land of the Mississauga’s of Scugog Island. As an organization deeply committed to the work of reconciliation and supporting Indigenous sovereignty, we recognize the colonial and detrimental impacts of the court and legal system in which we operate. We recognize the over-surveillance and the criminalization of Indigenous peoples across Turtle Island, and honour the voices and experiences of First Nation, Inuit, and Metis survivors.
It is also important to acknowledge and reflect on the continued impact of colonialism and the ways in which our laws and legal systems continue to oppress Indigenous peoples and communities. Given the nature of the work we do, it is important to acknowledge and continuously reflect on the fact that Indigenous women, girls, and 2Spirit people, are subjected to extreme and disproportionate rates of violence compared to non-Indigenous women and girls. As an organization that supports survivors through the family law system, we must be aware of the additional barriers Indigenous families face in these systems. Part of offering trauma informed services means they must be culturally informed and responsive.
Indigenous women are approximately 3.5 times more likely to experience some form of spousal violence than nonindigenous women.[1] The rate of femicide among Indigenous women, girls, and 2Spirit people is significantly higher than it is towards white woman and girls.[2] Evidence suggests that although Indigenous people have family law issues and needs, they often want to resolve such issues without engaging with the family law system. This underutilization of the family law system among Indigenous people is due to the many barriers they encounter in accessing this system, including cultural inappropriateness, language barriers, fear and distrust of government agencies as a result of colonial history with the Canadian government, racism and discrimination. The barriers faced by Indigenous people in safely accessing the family law system are multiple and complex and understanding these complexities is critical to offering services that are trauma and culturally-informed and responsive to the unique needs of Indigenous survivors of IPV.
At Luke’s Place, we aim to do our part to end trauma and violence against Indigenous lives. We are committed to providing services that are anti-racist, feminist, anti-oppressive, and trauma-informed. We are also committed to identifying barriers to accessing services. We adopt an intersectional lens and consider how ageism, sexism, sexual orientation, and other factors intersect with colonization. We will continue to educate ourselves and share that learning with others about the impacts of colonization and the residential school system. We are committed to providing cultural safety through access to traditional knowledge and practices and providing culturally appropriate communications and resources.
All settlers have a role to play in ongoing learning, acknowledging the truth of colonial violence, and taking actions to engage in reconciliation.
Learn about the TRC calls to action.
Resources for further learning:
National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation
National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls final report
Indigenous Women, Intimate Partner Violence, and Housing
Fact Sheet: Violence Against Aboriginal Women
Footnotes
[1] Public Safety Canada. (2012) Marginalized: The Aboriginal Women’s experience in Federal Corrections. Government of Canada. Available at: https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/rsrcs/pblctns/mrgnlzd/index-en.aspx
[2] https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/85-002-x/2023001/article/00003-eng.htm
