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Dawn Harvard: In my opinion the lack of appropriate response isvery saddening. I was quite recently working on developing a better relationship with the RCMP, so I'm really hoping that this doesn't damage the work that we are trying to do together. Obviously we need their cooperation and support to have a significant impact on the issue of missing and murdered women, and this kind of thing is very damaging. Looking at that particular story and seeing that it was not just the one officer, but it was the others who turned a blind eye, in a sense condoning the behavior—it's really very distressing. There is a lack of holding each other accountable.
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I think some of the articles out there have pointed to the necessity of an independent review or investigation. That's where I think we need to look at systemic issues in terms of how we are investigating, and therefore, by extension, how we are responding to these kinds of things. Because in this position there is a tremendous power imbalance, and it's very, very concerning. And once again, I am a little concerned by the lack of what I think is an appropriate response, even for the individuals who essentially condoned [Theriault's behavior] by not stopping it. That's a classic situation of violence against women in general, right? If you know this is going on, and you're not stepping in, you're not stopping it, then you are condoning it. And that's the kind of message we need to get across. Not just for enforcement, but throughout Canadian society in general.
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This is not something new. This really is just the most current manifestation of a long-standing, historical problem. It is part of a legacy of racist and sexist policies, practices, and history in Canada. The dehumanization of indigenous peoples in general has been going on here for hundreds of years. It started out as a convenient excuse to remove people from their own territory and justify the breaking of treaties. It was part of a larger mentality that allowed what one would hope are normally good people to justify their own behavior by dehumanizing and degrading indigenous people. And that has been going on as part of the larger colonization project for generations upon generations. It has been used to justify that abuse which, for the most part, has from the very beginning been about economics. It was about land, it was about justifying the extermination of a people because they were here first.So it's not something that is particularly a part of the police force. I think it's something that's part of, sadly, Canadian society in general. And North American society. We see it happen in the treatment of indigenous people in countries around the world. But for indigenous women, since you brought the question up, there is that additional layer of sexism. So even in a society that has historically oppressed and degraded its own women, you now have that double factor of the racism and the sexism, and that not only are they property, they're property of a lesser people. That goes together to make a situation where our women are the most vulnerable, and that's what the whole thing about missing and murdered indigenous women is all about. People think indigenous women are less worthy.How do you tackle something that seems so deeply ingrained?
That's exactly the challenge. My own field is education, and I think that's where we need to start. The number of people in the country whose perceptions, opinions, and beliefs about indigenous people are based on John Wayne-type movies is absolutely appalling. It has no connection to the reality of indigenous people in this country, the indigenous people right down the street, or who work in their own offices, in their own backyards. That change is going to have to start with the generation that's in kindergarten right now, and work its way through. I personally, if nothing else, am making a large effort in that particular direction. But it's going to take a couple of generations to start having that kind of awareness. Whether it's native women, whether it's the Assembly of First Nations, whether it's the media, there needs to be a concerted effort to look into these myths. And the media is right there: something that has been villainized for a very long time as continuing to perpetuate racist stereotypes, could be our biggest ally and champion in terms of ending those kind of myths.What do you see as present, concrete things that can be done between aboriginal people and the RCMP?
They can see this as a black mark or they can see this as as a chance for really good change. Not to sweep it under the rug, not to say it's one bad apple. To say, "We're going to make sure this never happens again." You can never know 100 percent, but we can come out strong on this and say that we are putting in place efforts for more accountability and more transparency. They have to recognize that this is not something that only happens to indigenous women. This is, unfortunately, something that happens around the world, to whichever vulnerable sector there is. There are lots and lots of studies that show that. We have heard of this happening: women come into our offices for different programs, and they have complained [of police mistreatment]. So it's not unheard of. But here's an obviously clear case that you can take and deal with in a very proactive way, that you can show we're going to do something about it.What do you think the chances of that happening are?
That I won't comment on. But I would like to say that if the sincerity of the RCMP members I was working with before Christmas means anything, then I do have a measure of hope that they will take the lead on some of this. We can hope. It's that ability to hope, even against all other signs to the contrary, that keeps you going and fighting and struggling for the change. And eventually things do change.Follow Raf on Twitter.