A movement focused on reconciliation and ending gender-based violence will be taking place Canada-wide this week.
The Moose Hide Campaign was created twelve years ago by an Indigenous father and daughter to speak out against gender-based and domestic violence.
This year the event will feature a variety of workshops, ceremonies, and celebrations as well as keynote addresses from Raven Lacerte, co-founder of the Moose Hide Campaign, Dominic Paul, Campaign National Ambassador, and Brandi Morin, an award-winning journalist, storyteller, and advocate for missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and two-spirit plus people, as well as Chief Dr. Robert Joseph, OC, OBC, of Reconciliation Canada.
People who want to participate in the event are asked to fast from sunrise to sunset to show their support for ending gender-based violence. Raven Lacerte, co-founder of the Moose Hide Campaign, said that even though the organization is indigenous led, it is the responsibility all Canadians to step up and make real change.
“Although we are an Indigenous-led organization, it is a shared responsibility of all Canadians to step up to foster positive change through meaningful dialogue and action. It starts by shining a light on the issue and then helping Canadians understand how they can get involved to end gender-based violence and advance truth and reconciliation in Canada,” said Lacerte.
The campaign is represented by a square of moose hide worn on the lapels of Canadians. In many Indigenous cultures, moose hide is considered good medicine. The moose hide pin is offered as medicine for the social illness of domestic and gender-based violence against women and children, particularly Indigenous women and children.
Sage Lacerte, Campaign National Ambassador, said that creating a safer Canada for women and children isn’t an issue women should face alone. “Part of our journey to create a safer Canada for all women and children is recognizing that this isn’t an issue that women should tackle alone. We’re calling upon all Canadians, including men, to join this movement, and it also starts with a commitment to raising children to know what love is,” Lacerte said.
Moose Hide Campaign Day is a nationwide event that will be livestreamed so that Canadians from all around the country can join and show their support.