The Discourse Of Murdered And Missing Indigenous Women And Girls In Canada
Ava A. Smith
PhD, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Abstract
This paper examines the gendered violence against Indigenous women and girls in Canada, as revealed by the 2019 Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Inquiry (MMIWG) Final Report. The paper argues that Canadian political and legal institutions have remained committed to (re)producing colonial violence by framing violence against Indigenous women as a cultural or individual problem rather than a systemic problem. The paper is divided into three sections: Section 1 provides a detailed overview of the MMIWG Final Report, examining the urgency that led to the national inquiry being conducted, the expanded definition of gendered and colonial violence, the players involved within the national inquiry and Final Report, as well as the various causes of this violence outlined within the Final Report. Section 2 focuses on understanding the Final Report's various frameworks and recommendations for ending gendered colonial violence embedded within diverse Canadian institutions. Additionally, this section analyzes the "calls for justice" that focus on holding the government and legal institutions liable. Section 3 concludes by analyzing the dominant and Indigenous receptions and responses to the MMIWG Final Report. The paper shows how white supremacist, misogynist, and colonial structures have persisted alongside liberal strategies that recognize yet continue to rationalize violence against Indigenous women and girls.