Regina Hosts International Event On Missing Women

Regina Hosts International Event On Missing Women

Thursday, August 14, 2008 at 14:46

 

 

A conference begins today in Regina to study the increasing number of Indigenous women across North America who are going missing.

 

Experts from Mexico, the United States and Canada will present several studies and analysis on why so many women have disappeared over the years.

 

The list of delegates includes educators, filmmakers and Aboriginal leaders.

 

Coordinator Brittany Mathews says subjects such as systemic racism, barriers to public service, and oversights in the education system will all be covered.

 

Mathews says organizers hope that by pinpointing the connections between colonialism, racism, and sexism, they will be able to better understand what’s going on.

 

Mathews says the plight of missing Indigenous women isn’t just confined to Canada.

 

She says some people have travelled from as far away as Juarez, Mexico, where 1,000 women are reported missing.

 

As well, she says the Native Women’s Association of Canada will also update participants about a database it is building to track missing women in this country.

 

Tomorrow, conference participants will march from the Conexus Arts Centre to the University of Regina to honour the memories of women who have gone missing, and to call for change.

 

The four-day conference is being staged at the university and runs until Sunday.