Whether you are passionate about interdisciplinary human rights research, social justice programming, or student training and mentorship, the University of Manitoba offers opportunities to support the opportunities most important to you.
Providing free supplies in some places — while necessary in the movement towards equity — is only part of the story.Menstrual justice is about ensuring that all people who menstruate be provided with the resources and infrastructure to do so safely and with dignity.
Whether you are passionate about interdisciplinary human rights research, social justice programming, or student training and mentorship, the University of Manitoba offers opportunities to support the opportunities most important to you.
The workshop gathered some of the most incredible and inspiring individuals – scholars, activists, advocates, storytellers – all of whom work in the realm of water and climate justice. An important goal of the two-day workshop was bridging the gap and uniting the diverse disciplines that work on water scholarship. For me, it was this diversity amongst scholars and practitioners represented just how integral the issue was. Many had a background in natural sciences, however there were just as many with humanities and social sciences backgrounds, including history, literature, and governance. A notable observation was that most attendees were women. There was a strong influence and respect towards Indigenous ways of knowledge and philosophies.
I joined the workshop as a Student Research Assistant at the CHRR, working on the newly funded Just Waters project. I was selected as a Research Assistant as part of the Indigenous Summer Student Internship Program. For me, it felt good to return to water justice – to a topic that I’ve always felt passionate about. I’m a part of a generation that has grown up with climate change, water injustices, and inequities all being topics in the curriculum. Throughout high school, I actively participated in our environmental justice student group, which included biannual water testing and sampling at three different sites. Because of my disinterest in the natural sciences, I never considered that I would be able to continue with my interests in academia; the workshop provided me with a chance to meet scholars and professionals who come at the issue from diverse disciplines and perspectives.
Following introductions, together the attendees established themes of knowledge gaps that required further discussion. These four themes included:
Justice Frameworks
Procedural Justice
Unity of Knowledge
Well-being
This opening exercise was eye-opening. These areas of study don’t exist within silos, the way that we might perceive them to. These issues are as much of social ones as they are scientific. While I might be currently pursuing a career in the legal field there are still ways I can advocate for climate and water justice. There is work to be done, regardless of the educational background one might have. Everyone has a role and a responsibility when it comes to water, and the participation of everyone is integral for our future.
In the months following the workshop, I found myself thinking often of one theme that had been identified by the group – unity of knowledge. The idea was to explore how different areas of study operate in silos, and they remain separate and distinct, with little overlap or little collaboration. This is true for not only the natural sciences and humanities/social sciences, but also western knowledge on water and Indigenous knowledge systems on water. It’s important to integrate all the different forms of knowledge together. This includes how to integrate the natural sciences together with concepts of justice.
Whitemud River, Manitoba. Image: JTbuer, Wikimedia.
I’ve also been thinking back to my participation in water testing in high school at Whitemud River, Manitoba. While testing the water – we considered questions related to the appearance of water and the recreational usage of the water. At one of the sites, a few students shared that they had swam in the water for years; yet there were many of us who hadn’t even considered this water as being suitable for swimming because of the way we perceived the conditions of the water and the surrounding environment. Within the group, we had different relationships with the water. This is an important attribute to the data we collected. While the tests that we would conduct may provide data about whether the water was good for recreational usage, this is in a context where people had ongoing relationships with that water, and different opinions on what makes the water safe for recreational usage. If the results either we or the lab found it to be unsafe, the cause of the problem could be dealt with. The community could also be made aware so they can make decisions for their well-being. Both the tests we conducted, and the information provided by those with ongoing relationships to the site were valuable to the data we collected.
When we think about bridging these silos, it can happen during water testing. When you go out to collect water samples, the testing could also involve questions about your relationship to the water, or questions rooted in Indigenous ways of knowing. This could include asking those taking samples to consider how the condition of the water makes you feel, to document animals that you might’ve seen, or to answer whether you might swim or drink the water. To me, these questions make sense especially when members that are collecting water samples are a mix of those local to the area and those who are not.
Whitemud River. Image from Whitemud Watershed Conservation District.
Our relationships to water and the various forms of knowledge about water are all important in addressing the complex challenges of water and climate injustices that we face today. The workshop helped me return to my passion. Climate and water justice need to transition to both prioritizing interdisciplinary work and also valuing and respecting Indigenous knowledge (as much as western science typically is) if we are to address the complexities of water injustices.
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Although period management options have improved significantly in the last half century, there is still work to be done to improve period products for the well-being of those who use them, and the well-being of the environment. As we work towards implementing menstrual justice in our communities, we must also prioritize the environmental cost of menstruating.
The environmental impact of period products can be measured by looking at the use of raw materials, energy, and water during the manufacturing processes, the makeup of the components of the products (plastic versus cotton, for example), the packaging of the products, and the total quantity of how many products are used and disposed of globally. However, there is little available literature on the exact environmental impact of disposable period products.
Many reusable period products are available as alternatives to disposable pads and tampons. Menstrual cups, discs, reusable pads, and period underwear are among the most popular. Cups and discs are worn internally and made of medical grade silicone, or other body-safe ingredients like TPE, and can be washed and reused for up to 10 years, depending on the brand and the user. In addition to their environmental benefits, cups and discs often hold more menstrual blood than pads and tampons. There are many options for shape, size, and capacity, depending on the menstruator’s anatomy and flow.
Photo: Sarah Kobos
Period underwear is increasing in popularity in recent years. It features an absorbent gusset and can be washed and reused for years. Period underwear often holds less menstrual blood than cups or discs but can be worn as backup for leaks in addition to an internal product, or by itself during spotting or for those with a light flow.
There are options for disposable pads and tampons that have lighter environmental footprints than plastic-based products. Pads and tampons made of cotton are healthier for the person using them and for the environment.
Reusable products are not suitable for all bodies, lifestyles, and circumstances, for example due to lack of resources, education, or personal preference. While reusable period products can last many years, they have higher upfront costs than disposable products. Further, internal reusable options such as cups and discs may not work well for all bodies, as each menstruator has different preferences based on their individual needs. Reusable pads are a great option for reducing waste, however one must be able carry the used pad with them until they can be laundered. Therefore, healthier disposable options made from organic cotton are important.
This savings calculator from Winnipeg-based reusable period product company Tree Hugger Cloth Pads illustrates financial and environmental savings from switching to reusable cloth pads.
Environmental impact must be taken into consideration when conceptualizing period products, however disposable options continue to be necessary. The waste associated with disposable products cannot be used as an argument to discourage the importance of free period products. We can advocate for accessibility of products, including disposable and reusable products, so that all menstruators have safe and reliable products.
For more information about the environmental impact of period products, check out these resources:
Hand, J., Hwang, C., Vogel, W., Lopez, C., & Hwang, S. (2023). An exploration of market organic sanitary products for improving menstrual health and environmental impact. Journal of Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene for Development, 13(2), 63–77. https://doi.org/10.2166/washdev.2023.020
Harrison, M. E., & Tyson, N. (2023). Menstruation: Environmental impact and need for global health equity. International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics, 160(2), 378–382. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijgo.14311
May 28th is menstrual hygiene day, and this year, the theme is “Together for a #PeriodFriendlyWorld.” While this observance was originally framed as menstrual hygiene – we follow the lead of the World Health Organization, who calls for menstrual health to be recognized, framed, and addressed as a human rights issue, not a hygiene issue. Framing menstruation as such is a reflection of the taboo and stigma around periods. The labelling of period supplies as “feminine hygiene products” is incorrect since as Dr. Jen Gunther explains “needing them is not a sign of being feminine – it’s a sign that you need something to catch blood – and they’re not hygiene products because menstruating is not unhygienic.”
In 2023-2024, the Centre for Human Rights Research at the University of Manitoba has worked on the “Period Poverty & Equity, On Campus and Beyond” project to assess access to period supplies for the University of Manitoba community and to work towards menstrual equity, on campus and in the community. This series of essays is part of the Period Poverty & Equity, On Campus and Beyond project and aims to explore issues of menstrual justice that are often overlooked.
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Access to Menstrual Products in Federally Regulated Prisons in Canada
May 30, 2024
Author
Hannah Belec
By: Hannah Belec (she/her)
In December 2023, Employment and Social Development Canada announced that federally regulated employers must now provide pads and tampons to all employees in an accessible location at no cost. The press release from December 15th states that “menstruation is a fact of life” and pads and tampons are “basic necessities.”[1] Yet, current access to menstrual hygiene products in other federally regulated institutions, specifically prisons, certainly does not reflect the Canadian government’s apparent acceptance that “menstruation is a fact of life” and that both pads and tampons are “basic necessities.”[2]
Image: iStock Photo
In 2018, Public Safety Canada stated that there were approximately 676 federally incarcerated women.[3] These women make up between 7% and 8% of the total federal offender population and are the fastest-growing federal offender population.[4] For example, despite the total number of federally incarcerated offenders minimally increasing by 0.3% in the past ten years, the number of federally incarcerated women has increased by 20%.[5] Moreover, according to a 2022 study by Corrections Services Canada, there are approximately 21 openly trans-men and 17 individuals who openly identify as gender fluid, gender non-conforming/non-binary, intersex, two-spirited, or unspecified.[6] So, these statistics suggest that there are currently between 700 to 800 federally incarcerated offenders, residing in prisons designated for women and prisons designated for men, who may require menstrual hygiene products at some point during their incarceration, if not regularly – and this number will only continue to increase if the upward trend of federally incarcerated women continues.
In compliance with the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-Custodial Measures for Women Offenders, or the Bangkok Rules, Canadian federal prisons provide “facilities and materials required to meet women’s specific hygiene needs, including sanitary towels provided free of charge.”[7] However, some prisons designated for women do not provide tampons free of charge, only pads. For example, in a 2017 report conducted by the Senate on womens’ experience in Canadian prisons, incarcerated women at Joliette Prison in Quebec stated that they had to purchase tampons from the canteen if they wanted them, as they were only provided one kind of sanitary pad.[8] The need to buy tampons is a barrier to menstrual equity in Canadian prisons despite the Canadian government stating that pads and tampons are a basic necessity.
Even if a Canadian prison provides both tampons and pads free of charge, many inmates complain that they are not provided enough. On average, menstruators use about 3-6 pads or tampons daily, so three tampons may not be enough for one day, depending on an individual’s flow.[9] Yet, one inmate participant in Dr. Martha Paynter’s reproductive justice workshop exclaimed, “Bring a box! Why don’t they bring a box? You ask for tampons, and they bring you three. We don’t want to ask the male staff for tampons.”[10] Another inmate participant stated that it was “degrading” to ask for more menstrual hygiene products.[11] For incarcerated trans-men and non-binary, two-spirit, or intersex offenders who menstruate, their reluctance to ask male or female staff for menstrual hygiene products is likely exacerbated by feelings of fear, shame, and gender dysphoria. So, all federally incarcerated offenders need free and easily accessible pads and tampons, just like federal employees, to ensure their menstrual hygiene needs are addressed, and their dignity or safety is not compromised.
These economic and gender-specific barriers to menstrual equity in Canadian prisons contradict the government’s assertion that “menstruation is a fact of life” and that both pads and tampons are “basic necessities.”[2] Just like employees of the federal government, all federally incarcerated offenders, in both prisons designated for men and prisons designated for women, need free and easily accessible pads and tampons. This International Women’s Day (March 8th) and Menstrual Hygiene Day (May 28th), let’s advocate for free and accessible menstrual hygiene products in federally regulated prisons alongside federally regulated workplaces – because offenders are humans with rights that must be protected.
May 28th is menstrual hygiene day, and this year, the theme is “Together for a #PeriodFriendlyWorld.” While this observance was originally framed as menstrual hygiene – we follow the lead of the World Health Organization, who calls for menstrual health to be recognized, framed, and addressed as a human rights issue, not a hygiene issue. Framing menstruation as such is a reflection of the taboo and stigma around periods. The labelling of period supplies as “feminine hygiene products” is incorrect since as Dr. Jen Gunther explains “needing them is not a sign of being feminine – it’s a sign that you need something to catch blood – and they’re not hygiene products because menstruating is not unhygienic.”
In 2023-2024, the Centre for Human Rights Research at the University of Manitoba has worked on the “Period Poverty & Equity, On Campus and Beyond” project to assess access to period supplies for the University of Manitoba community and to work towards menstrual equity, on campus and in the community. This series of essays is part of the Period Poverty & Equity, On Campus and Beyond project and aims to explore issues of menstrual justice that are often overlooked.
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Many Canadians struggle to gain equitable access to menstrual products. Plan International Canada’s Menstruation in Canada Views and Realities reveals the consequences of unaffordable and inaccessible menstrual products among youth and adults. One in five (22%) of the respondents ration their products, and this number rises to 33% for those with household incomes less than $50,000 (Plan International Canada 2022). A recent report focusing on menstrual needs in northern communities noted that 74% of Indigenous respondents in remote communities and 55% of Indigenous respondents in non-remote communities “sometimes” or “often” have issues accessing menstrual products (Lane 2024). Resulting from this, in recent years, Indigenous leaders nationally have fought for easier access to period products (Toory 2022).
Sol Mamakwa, MPP of northern Ontario, is one such person. In 2021, after Shoppers Drug Mart announced its plan to donate menstrual products to public schools, 120 federally funded First Nations schools were excluded from this distribution. Mamakwa was outspoken about the province’s discriminatory practices, which violated Jordan Principle. Within this policy, it is mandated that the needs of First Nations Children to access “products, services, and supports” (Indigenous Services Canada, 2024) requires the collaboration of both the federal and provincial governments in a timely manner. Mamakwa further indicates his disappointment as the products were a private donation and did not require the spending of provincial funding.
Moon Time Connections, a national organization dedicated to providing menstrual products to Indigenous peoples throughout Turtle Island, shares Mamakwa’s concern. Working with the Ontario chapter of Moon Time Connections, Veronica Brown recognizes the government’s actions as a “colonial barrier” (McGillivray 2021) to equitable access to period products.
Nichole White created Moon Time Connections because she discovered Indigenous students learning in remote and rural areas were missing school due to a lack of access to menstrual products. The first chapter was created in Saskatchewan, previously known as Moon Sisters, and the organization expanded to Ontario, Manitoba, and British Columbia. They actively work toward period equity in collaboration with 120 northern Indigenous Communities from coast to coast.
References
Lane, Heather. 2024. “An Assessment of Menstrual-Related Needs in Northern Communities.” Moon Time Connections. True North Aid. https://truenorthaid.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/An-Assessment-of-Menstrual-Related-Needs-in-Northern-Communities-FINAL.pdf.
McGillivray, Kate. 2021. “MPP Calls out Province’s Free Menstrual Products Plan for Not Including First Nations Schools.” CBC News, October 23, 2021. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/mpp-calls-out-province-s-free-menstrual-products-plan-for-not-including-first-nations-schools-1.6219813.
Plan International Canada. 2022. “Menstruation in Canada – Views and Realities.” Plan International. https://www.multivu.com/players/English/9052951-menstrual-health-day-2022/docs/ViewsandRealities_1653434611799-556425632.pdf.
Toory, Leisha. 2022. “Menstrual Health Is a Public Health Crisis for Indigenous Youth.” Toronto Star, October 13, 2022. https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/menstrual-health-is-a-public-health-crisis-for-indigenous-youth/article_d8f3098b-1a61-52b7-a9c1-a8bdb9dc926d.html.
May 28th is menstrual hygiene day, and this year, the theme is “Together for a #PeriodFriendlyWorld.” While this observance was originally framed as menstrual hygiene – we follow the lead of the World Health Organization, who calls for menstrual health to be recognized, framed, and addressed as a human rights issue, not a hygiene issue. Framing menstruation as such is a reflection of the taboo and stigma around periods. The labelling of period supplies as “feminine hygiene products” is incorrect since as Dr. Jen Gunther explains “needing them is not a sign of being feminine – it’s a sign that you need something to catch blood – and they’re not hygiene products because menstruating is not unhygienic.”
In 2023-2024, the Centre for Human Rights Research at the University of Manitoba has worked on the “Period Poverty & Equity, On Campus and Beyond” project to assess access to period supplies for the University of Manitoba community and to work towards menstrual equity, on campus and in the community. This series of essays is part of the Period Poverty & Equity, On Campus and Beyond project and aims to explore issues of menstrual justice that are often overlooked.
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Whether you are passionate about interdisciplinary human rights research, social justice programming, or student training and mentorship, the University of Manitoba offers opportunities to support the opportunities most important to you.
It is not only cisgender women who menstruate. For some, this idea may be something they are already aware of and understand to be true. For others, it may be a little more difficult. To understand that menstruation is not an experience specific to women, we must first understand what we mean by gender.
Image: Mikayla Hunter
The term cisgender refers to a person whose gender identity aligns with the sex they were assigned at birth.1 Transgender is a term for people whose gender identity does not align with the sex they were assigned at birth.1 It is important to note that both ‘cis’ and ‘trans’ are simply prefixes that add additional information to a word or an idea, and neither of these terms are slurs. For example, we can refer to a book as a hardcover book to give more information about the book that we are talking about. Cis is a prefix that means ‘on the same side as’ and trans means ‘on the other side of’. This means that a cisgender woman is a woman whose gender identity is ‘on the same side as’ the sex she was assigned at birth. A transgender man is a man whose gender identity is ‘on the other side of’ the sex he was assigned at birth. With these ideas in mind, we can understand that both cisgender women and transgender men may have a uterus and experience menstruation. However, it is not just cisgender women and transgender men who may have these experiences.
Gender diverse people have a wide range of gender identities and/or gender expressions that do not conform to socially defined gender norms of men and women.2 There are many terms and identities that people may use to describe themselves including non-binary, agender, genderqueer, and gender non-conforming to name a few. Gender diversity does not look a specific way, and the experiences of gender diverse people can (and do) vary. For example, not every gender diverse person will dress androgynously and not all of them will experience menstruation. However, some of them will. Similar to how both cisgender women and transgender men can experience menstruation, so can gender diverse people. A person who menstruates doesn’t look any one specific way or identify as a woman.
Importantly, menstruation can cause gender dysphoria for transgender and gender diverse people. Gender dysphoria is the experience of discomfort or distress because there is a mismatch between a person’s sex assigned at birth and their gender identity.3 For some transgender and gender diverse people, they may undergo procedures such as hysterectomy to relieve gender dysphoria and as a part of their gender journey. However, not everyone has access to these surgical procedures for a variety of reasons and so, menstruation can be all the more difficult for transgender and gender diverse people.
Image: Mikayla Hunter
Femininity and menstruation do not go hand-in-hand. A person’s gender identity is their internal sense of gender, or lack thereof. The biological function of our bodies is not directly tied to our gender identities. And so, saying that only women menstruate is incorrect. As Kimberlé Crenshaw explains,4 when policies that support women only support women and policies that support Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour (BIPOC) people only support BIPOC men, BIPOC women are not supported by either policy. When we consider the idea of menstrual equity, we need to ensure that all bodies that menstruate are included and not just cisgender women. Otherwise, we haven’t achieved menstrual equity at all if people are being left out of advocacy and policy changes.
May 28th is menstrual hygiene day, and this year, the theme is “Together for a #PeriodFriendlyWorld.” While this observance was originally framed as menstrual hygiene – we follow the lead of the World Health Organization, who calls for menstrual health to be recognized, framed, and addressed as a human rights issue, not a hygiene issue. Framing menstruation as such is a reflection of the taboo and stigma around periods. The labelling of period supplies as “feminine hygiene products” is incorrect since as Dr. Jen Gunther explains “needing them is not a sign of being feminine – it’s a sign that you need something to catch blood – and they’re not hygiene products because menstruating is not unhygienic.”
In2023-2024, the Centre for Human Rights Research at the University of Manitoba has worked on the “Period Poverty & Equity, On Campus and Beyond” project to assess access to period supplies for the University of Manitoba community and to work towards menstrual equity, on campus and in the community. This series of essays is part of the Period Poverty & Equity, On Campus and Beyond project and aims to explore issues of menstrual justice that are often overlooked.
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Whether you are passionate about interdisciplinary human rights research, social justice programming, or student training and mentorship, the University of Manitoba offers opportunities to support the opportunities most important to you.
As of 9 May 2024, there were at least seventeen encampments or protests on Canadian university campuses in support of justice in Palestine, and disclosure and accountability of institutions with ties to the Israeli state. At the University of Manitoba on Treaty 1 territory, the encampment was set up by the Students for Justice in Palestine on 7 May; the following week, an encampment was set up at the University of Winnipeg.
In these spaces, students and allies engage in some of the most timeworn and treasured practices of social action: they educate themselves and others, they raise attention, they make connections between struggles here and across the world. In tents and on tarps, people organize and share meals, make decisions about how to do things, hold prayer services, organize soccer games, demand that local politicians search the landfill, and on the biggest tarp – listen to lectures. In encampments we see solidarity, care, deliberative governance, and education in practice.
These forms of protest are the kinds expressly protected by both domestic and international human rights instruments and Indigenous protocols. Mohawk leader Ellen Gabriel reminds us that university campuses like McGill’s are on Indigenous lands, and that students “must be protected on our lands as they strive for human rights for all Palestinians.” In Canada, section 2(c) of the Charter protects “the freedom of peaceful assembly,” defined by courts to include peaceful demonstrations, protests, parades, meetings, and picketing. The status as to whether universities fit under the Charter, however, can be unclear. The Manitoba Organization of Faculty Associations highlights the importance of this freedom of expression and debate, even of contested points of view as “essential to learning and the advancement of knowledge” and go on to add that limiting or pre-empting such gatherings fails to “uphold the foundational purposes of our institutions.”
The Centre for Human Rights Research (CHRR) has a mandate to foster and disseminate research related to human rights, broadly defined, on campus and in the wider community. This is a mandate that is invariably shaped by both long histories and current events unfolding in real time. In different ways, we have seen each of the CHRR’s four research themes – the right to food and water, Indigenous people and human rights, borders and human rights, and reproductive and bodily justice – shaped by the violence that followed attacks on southern Israel in October last year. In March 2024, the UN’s Special Rapporteur reported that “the overwhelming nature and scale of Israel’s assault on Gaza and the destructive conditions of life it has inflicted reveal an intent to physically destroy Palestinians as a group,” and constitute reasonable grounds for the commission of the crime of genocide.
“Wāpikwanīya (Flowers)” is a digital illustration that features an arrangement of wāpikwanīya or flowers positioned at the base of the composition, set against a backdrop of tall prairie grass and sky. Artwork by Carly Morrisseau.
In an earlier webinar, the CHRR explored connections and solidarities with Palestine, and our upcoming podcast will include Winnipeg Centre MP Leah Gazan, Independent Jewish Voices Harold Shuster, University of Ottawa’s Alex Neve, and University of Toronto’s Youcef Soufi on this question. They remind us that is a crucial time for individuals, communities, and institutions to stand firmly for human rights. These include the rights of people to live free of the human rights violations and international crime that have marked decades of occupation and violence in Israel and Palestine, and to respond to these injustices by assembling. In The Guardian, journalist Osita Nwanevu reminds us that in the last sixty years, student activists have “passed every great moral test American foreign policy has forced upon he public, including the Vietnam war, the questions of relations with apartheid South Africa, and the Iraq war.” In encampments across Canada, including those at our own campus, students and allies are working to bring attention to a genocide unfolding in real time, and to remind us of the power and possibilities of mindful, relational collective action in the face of it.
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Reflections: Solidarities + Connections with Palestine
February 23, 2024
Author
Adele Perry and Pauline Tennent
By Adele Perry and Pauline Tennent
Since 2008, Manitoba has celebrated Louis Riel Day with a statutory holiday. Other provinces call their February holiday Family Day, or Heritage Day. Manitoba’s day recognizes Louis Riel, Métis leader and elected president of the Legislative Assembly of Assiniboia who was put to death for the charge of Treason in 1885. Louis Riel Day is a celebration of local history, and an important reminder that this province was born in struggle with colonial governments, in this case Canada’s. These are histories worth recalling as we bear witness to the ongoing violence, displacement, and resistance in Palestine.
In January 2023, South Africa argued before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that Israel’s actions amounted to “genocidal conduct” and breached the 1948 Genocide Convention. It was a harrowing and careful case, rooted in international law and backed evidence. The ICJ responded with provisional measures against Israel, demanding that they prevent and punish incitements to genocide, allow humanitarian aid, ensure that evidence of alleged crimes be preserved, and report back within a month.
Canada’s response to this ruling, and to ongoing questions about its support for the Israeli government, revealed the limits of Canada’s supposed commitment to international law. It also reflected Canada’s relationship to discussions of genocide, settler colonialism, and Indigenous sovereignty within the Canadian context.1 Legal scholars Heidi Matthews, Faisal Bhabha, and Mohammad Fadel argue that Canada’s response to the ICJ ruling response represented a “deliberate indifference to atrocity.” In the months since the ICJ’s ruling, little has changed. Israel has targeted medical facilities, impeded food aid, used seawater to flood Gaza, and expanded its operations toward Rafah. At the ICJ, more than 52 states – most of them from the global majority – are seeking a nonbinding legal opinion against Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, Jerusalem, and Gaza since 1967.
“Wāpikwanīya (Flowers)” by Carly Morrisseau is a digital illustration that features an arrangement of wāpikwanīya or flowers positioned at the base of the composition, set against a backdrop of tall prairie grass and sky.
Across the world, and with particular visibility in the global south, people have advocated for a ceasefire and expressed solidarity with Palestine and Palestinian liberation movements. Indigenous intellectuals and artists have written that it is “heartbreaking and unsurprising to see the colonial powers in Canada, the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Europe line up behind this genocide.” More than 200 legal scholars and practitioners have demanded that Canada support a ceasefire and effectively support the “vital international humanitarian and human rights legal standards that Canada regularly champions around the world.”
On 28 February at 3pm CST, the CHRR will host a webinar discussing solidarities and connections with Palestine. Our panel includes Winnipeg Centre MP Leah Gazan; lawyer and human rights advocate Alex Neve; long-time Winnipeg activist Harold Shuster; scholar and community organizer Youcef Soufi; and York University professor and extraordinaire Ethel Tungohan. Each of these people bring different knowledge to the table, and we look forward to an important conversation about global events that are connected to histories of colonialism, dispossession, and resurgence within our own territories, and that demand our attention and action.
This is a point made by Heidi Matthews and Alonso Gurmendi, in “HMOD Episode 12 – Hague Wars: The Global South Strikes Back,” https://soundcloud.com/hmodpod/hmod-ep12-haguewars?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing.
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Reflections: Marking NDTR and Reading the OSI Interim Report
October 03, 2023
Author
Adele Perry
By Adele Perry
Like the rest of the University of Manitoba, the office of the Centre for Human Rights Research (CHRR) closed in recognition of the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation or Orange Shirt Day. Last week, the CHRR joined with others on campus to build a Heart Garden in the Quad and host a Teach-In for Reconciliation, where about 500 people heard from speakers including CHRR research affiliates Dr. Cary Miller, Dr. Sean Carleton, and Brenda Gunn, alongside Marc Kruse.
In different ways, these events all foreground the need for truth before reconciliation, and the connections between residential schooling and related institutions and histories. The Indian Residential School System existed for more than a century, and is inextricably tied to a range of other institutions, including segregated medical treatment for Indigenous people, child welfare systems, and the ongoing crisis of Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two Spirit people. As much as researchers have learned in the last decade, there remains a great deal to be learned about those interconnected systems, and what they meant for Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in Canada. There also remains substantial barriers for Indigenous communities who are seeking to document the impact of colonial institutions on their past, present, and future.
This is one of the points made by the Interim Report of the Independent Special Interlocutor for Missing Children and Unmarked Graves and Burial Sites associated with Indian Residential Schools (OSI). Kim Murray, the Special Interlocutor, was appointed in June 2022 with a mandate to collaborate with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities and survivors to recommend a new federal framework to ensure the “respectful and culturally appropriate treatment of unmarked graves and burial sites of children associated with former residential schools.” The OSI builds on the crucial work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, especially Volume 4’s focus on Missing Children and Unmarked Burials associated with Residential Schools. It also responds to the announcements of potential unmarked graves that have been made since 2021, announcements which have confirmed longstanding community knowledge and shaken a wider Canadian public.
At an event sponsored by the University of Winnipeg’s History Department Indigenization Committee on 25 September, Dr. Mary Jane Logan McCallum noted that there is much for researchers to think about in the OSI Interim report. Referencing international human rights law, Murray’s introduction reminds us of the need for ethical truth-telling and justice-seeking research. She that her role is “not to be neutral or objective – it is to be a fierce and fearless advocate to ensure that the bodies and Spirits of the missing children are treated with the care, respect, and dignity they deserve.” (p. 3).
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
For communities and families seeking answers about children who never came home, the barriers to the truth and justice continue to be steep. The OSI Interim report documents how Canada’s current legal system and multi-jurisdictional patchwork stymies efforts to learn about individuals, families, and communities whose histories were touched by federal, provincial, and municipal institutions and their respective policies. The report documents the continued barriers communities face in accessing relevant records and potential burial sites, and in executing ground searches. The OSI Interim Report affirms Indigenous data sovereignty, and notes that mainstream media attention and an environment of increased residential school denialism pose additional challenges. So too does the lack of sustainable, long-term funding and Indigenous health and wellness reports. The Interim Report argues that there needs to be an Indigenous-led and sustainably funded policies for the repatriation of children who died at Indian Residential Schools, ceremony and burial sites. There need to be accountability and justice for survivors and their families and a new legal framework to protect “protect unmarked burial sites and support the recovery of missing children.” (p. 132).
As the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation 2023 fades away, I urge you to read the OSI Interim Report. It reminds us of the work that still needs to be done, and the systems that need to change, in order for Indigenous families and communities to have the fullest understanding possible of the acts of genocide that took place in Indian Residential Schools, of those children that never came home.
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Reflections: Connecting through Water — Nibi Gathering 2023
July 10, 2023
Author
Eliza Maharjan
By Eliza Maharjan
As I sit here reflecting on my first ever Nibi Gathering, I realized that the experience could not be summed up in a few sentences. It was an experience jam-packed with learning and sharing, stories and humor, laughter, and tears. Co-led by Anishinaabe legal scholar Aimée Craft and Anishinaabe environmental justice scholar Deborah McGregor, the gathering took place at Manitou Api, Whiteshell, Bannock Point on May 25-28, 2023. With a focus on “Building Water Relationships,” the gathering highlighted the importance of the language, songs, ceremonies, and teachings of the water.
Whiteshell. Image: Eliza Maharjan, 2023.
Before attending the Nibi gathering, water, for me, was merely this non-living entity that aided my survival. But as I reflect on the teachings from the Nibi Gathering, I’ve come to see that water – Nibi – is life. It is to be protected, respected, and in the end, celebrated.
Attendees gathered in the teaching lodge, coming together in a collective spirit, to learn from stories and teachings. Smudge welcomed us to the teaching lodge helping purify and cleanse our souls and environment of any negative thoughts. The gathering embodied many Anishinaabe teachings. The Circle of the Medicine Wheel comprises the four elements: earth, water, air, and fire. Each of these elements accompanied the gathering. The lodge housed a sacred fire that was surrounded by the participants in a circle, the gathering was on land meaning the participants had a chance to connect with Mother Earth. The river enveloped the gathering place and the air helped keep the sacred fire alive. In a way, the gathering showed that everything is connected, just as the circle.
From Left to Right: Anamika Deb, Laura Westfall, Adele Perry. Front: Alejandra Diabb. Image: Jocelyn Thorpe, 2023.
My day at the Nibi Gathering began with a water ceremony, led by women, symbolizing life and the significance of women as caretakers of the water. The teachings covered the value of water, the role of women as protectors of water, and how water is changing in their communities.
Throughout the day, we heard from different speakers about the sacred nature of Nibi (water) and the work being done to protect the water. This included guests from Colombia and Australia, who brought with them stories and teachings. The gathering fostered a sense of community where people from across the world could come together and share their stories. Their stories made me realize that distance didn’t affect the connections, their stories were similar, and this is what the gathering was about – connectedness.
The afternoon saw a water walk to the river led by a water song. Each song was engaging and came with its own knowledge. The group was led to the nearby river where they could offer the water from their land and connect with the water there. The songs echoed in the vastness where the songs carried generational knowledge. Initially, it was led by a single individual, but as they spent more time around the water, the voices grew louder, and the water heard different songs from different parts of the world. Again, geography might separate individuals, but the songs and collective shared experiences never fail to bring people closer; this was definitely the case in the Nibi gathering. The common theme that echoed during the water walk was that the body of water has roles and responsibilities, but importantly, so do we, and it is thus important to take care of it.
There were teachings about treaties, the importance of Treaty education, and the water treaty. The speakers talked about the relationship of Anishinaabe people with water and the responsibilities people have to protect it. Recognition of water as a spirit and having a life, can help in decision-making, the water governance process, and recognizing their rights. Another important idea that was discussed was decolonization which simply means having the freedom to make your own choices. So, giving rights to water and acknowledging the roles and responsibilities is a step closer to decolonization and this gathering succeeded in promoting this.
Laughter filled the lodge with stories and teachings shared by the Elders. I felt like the gathering was all about connectedness. The language was used as an instrument to connect with the land and decolonize. Education was then a tool used to rebuild languages. And lands and water are active participants involved in the process of learning. So, all of these components are interrelated. Nibi Gathering is thus unique, and inspiring, and provided a safe space for learning, healing, and connecting. The gathering gave me a new outlook on water and as an Environmental student, it has prompted me to respect the water and taught me a decolonized approach to seeing water and its protection. Water is integral to our survival, so it is our duty to respect it and finds ways to celebrate it.
Craft, Aimée. (2021). Treaty Words: For as Long as the River Flows. Annick Press.
Craft, A., McGregor, D., Seymour-Hourie, R., & Chiblow, S. (2021). Decolonizing Anishinaabe nibi inaakonigewin and gikendaasowin research: Reinscribing Anishinaabe approaches to law and knowledge. In Decolonizing Law (pp. 17-33). Routledge.
Craft, Aimée. (2013). Breathing Life into the Stone Fort Treaty: An Anishnabe Understanding of Treaty One. UBC Press.
Craft, A., & King, L. (2021). Building the Treaty# 3 Nibi Declaration using an Anishinaabe methodology of ceremony, language and engagement. Water, 13(4), 532.
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