Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls

When we acknowledge that xʷməθkʷəy̓ əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) land is ancestral we are acknowledging that the “land is handed down from generation to generation.” When we acknowledge that the land is unceded, we are recognizing that “the land was not turned over to the Crown by a treaty or other agreements.” When we acknowledge that the territories are traditional, we are recognizing “how land was traditionally used or occupied by Indigenous Peoples”. 

We would like to acknowledge and honour all of the countless grassroots women and 2SLGBTQQIA+ Peoples who came together, spoke up against the system, and made noise so that the governments and residents would wake up and start helping to create change. We would like to acknowledge how the grassroots created ways to work in partnership with mainstream organizations and colonial governments to reduce systemic socio, cultural, and economic barriers for Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ Peoples, and that they have worked in their spare time, unpaid, to raise awareness and gain support from the mainstream for the National Inquiry to take place.

This work is about dismantling systemic racism and barriers. We would like to honour all who have come together to end violence against Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ Peoples. We would like to express our deepest gratitude to the MMIWG2S Advisory Committee members and the Urban Indigenous Peoples Advisory Committee (UIPAC) for all of their insight, sharing their personal stories, their patience, and their continued hope for direct action and change within mainstream society so that Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ Peoples will experience safety in all communities. We recognize that reconciliation is critical to reducing the recurring impacts of colonization on Indigenous, Metis, and Inuit communities. We also acknowledge that we have a long way to go to achieving appropriate reconciliation.

In 2020, we hired an Indigenous planner to lead our work. Since then, we have:

• Reviewed the MMIWG reports and City plans, priorities, and policies to identify 284 of the 431 recommendations from these reports
• Had ongoing conversations with community members and organizations, including the MMIWG2S Advisory Committee, to guide our work
• Engaged with our staff and partners to identify how the work aligns with the reports, where gaps exist, and opportunities to implement recommendations
• Presented a report to Council on July 19, 2022, that evaluated our work so far on implementing the 284 recommendations, and how to better align future policies with the intention of those recommendations. City Council heard directly from Indigenous women about their lived experiences and unanimously accepted the report and its recommendations.

In 2022 we adopted the MMIWG2S Response Report. It was created through partnership with Indigenous leaders, organizations, and community members. It calls for us to implement many of the recommendations from 2 historic reports:

• Red Women Rising: Indigenous Women Survivors in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside External link icon
• Reclaiming Power and Place: The Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (‘Calls for Justice’) External link icon

The MMIWG2S Response Report is part of it’s implementation of UNDRIP and Reconciliation Framework.