Xwi7xwa Library Guide
Vertical Files
- Subject HeadingsThe majority of our vertical files are organized according to our classification system and are catalogued. Some of the vertical files are organized alphabetically by subject. The following Word document can help you locate these items.
MMIWG Research Guide QR Code
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Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls
Photo credit: Andrea Groban-Oakunsheyld
This guide is to help in locating resources about Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, & Two-Spirit (MMIWG2S) in Canada. Here you will find links to books, e-books, journals, articles, theses, videos, websites and more about this topic.
In September 2016, the Government of Canada launched an entirely independent National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. In June 2019, the MMIWG National Inquiry released their final report, finding that persistent and deliberate human and Indigenous rights violations and abuses are the root cause behind Canada’s staggering rates of violence against Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA people.
Indigenous women face life-threatening, gender-based violence, and disproportionately experience violent crimes because of hatred and racism, as the 1484 family members and survivors proved during their testimonies for the National Inquiry. The Calls to Justice 15.1-15.8 asks Canadians to learn how violence against Indigenous women and girls is part of longstanding colonial policies, rather than a result of individual choice.
Featured Resources
- MMIWG Final ReportThe full report of the National Inquiry.
- Violence Against Indigenous Women: Literature, Activism, Resistance by Allison HargreavesFilled with the voices of contemporary Indigenous women writers, this book argues for the important role that literature and storytelling can play in response to gendered colonial violence.
- Forever Loved: Exposing the Hidden Crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls in Canada edited by D. Memee Lavell-Harvard and Jennifer BrantThis collection brings together the voices of Indigenous and non-Indigenous academics, frontline workers and activists who weave together academic and personal narratives, spoken word and poetry in the spirit of demanding immediate action to honour the missing and murdered and their families, to honour their lives and their stories.
- We are more than murdered and missing TEDx with Tamara BernardWith a talk that encourages hope, love, empowerment and igniting a new way of learning together as a nation, Tamara lays bare the world of violence impacting indigenous women.
- Fact Sheet on Violence Against Indigenous WomenThis website, hosted by the Native Women's Association of Canada (NWAC), has great fact sheet backed up by references on violence against indigenous women, MMIWG statistics, and root causes of violence against Indigenous Women and Girls.
- Fact Sheet LGBTQ+ and Two-SpiritNWAC fact sheet on LGBTQ+ and Two-Spirit peoples.
- MMIWG & Violence PreventionNWAC fact sheets, PowerPoints, and other publications (provincially specific information).
- Safe PassageAn interactive map of cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls to collect data and help identify patterns of violence in geographic areas. An initiative of the Native Women's Association of Canada.
Related Guides
Organizations & Associations
- Families of Sisters in SpiritFSIS is all-volunteer, grassroots, unfunded group of families of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and Two-Spirit people and ally-friends.
- Mending the Sacred HoopMending the Sacred Hoop is a Native-owned and operated non-profit 501(c) 3 organization that exists to address violence against Native women and works to end it. Based in the US.
- MMIWG National Inquiry WebsiteThe National Inquiry must look into and report on the systemic causes of all forms of violence against Indigenous women and girls, including sexual violence. We must examine the underlying social, economic, cultural, institutional, and historical causes that contribute to the ongoing violence and particular vulnerabilities of Indigenous women and girls in Canada. The mandate also directs us to look into and report on existing institutional policies and practices to address violence, including those that are effective in reducing violence and increasing safety.
- Moose Hide CampaignThe Moose Hide Campaign is a grassroots movement of Indigenous and non-Indigenous men and boys who are standing up against violence towards women and children. Over the years it has grown into a national campaign to engage all Canadians, with over 1,000 participating communities and organizations across the country.
- Native Women's Association of the Northwest TerritoriesNWA NWT is committed to being the voice of Native women in the Northwest Territories and to building relationships with all levels of government and other organizations to ensure all Native women and their families will live free from social and economic distress; to promote their sacred roles as valued and respected members in the community; and to preserve their culture, language and heritage.
- Native Women’s Association of CanadaThe Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) has worked for more than four decades to document the systemic violence impacting Indigenous women, girls, their families, and communities. From 2005 to 2010, NWAC’s Sisters In Spirit (SIS) Initiative confirmed 582 cases of missing and/or murdered Indigenous women and girls over a span of twenty years and worked to raise awareness of this human rights issue.
- No More Stolen Sisters-Amnesty InternationalAmnesty International's 2004 Stolen Sisters report was one of the first reports to systematically document the pattern of violence experienced by Indigenous women and girls in Canada. Due to continued government inaction to end the violence, the findings and recommendations in the 2004 report, and its 2009 update, are as relevant today as they were at the time of publishing.
- Ontario Native Women's AssociationOntario Native Women’s Association (ONWA) has advocated for safety, equality and justice for Indigenous women. Our 1989 groundbreaking report, Breaking Free, exposed the true extent of the violence indigenous women faced. After building on this work for nearly another three decades, ONWA was pleased at the announcement of Walking Together in 2016, and the opportunity for partnership with Ontario to address the issue of violence against Indigenous women.
- Our Bodies, Our Stories at the Urban Indian Health Institute (Washington State)Our Bodies, Our Stories is a series of reports that details the scope of violence against Native women across the nation. The first report highlighted data relating to sexual violence against Native women in an urban setting—Seattle, Washington. The second report provided a snapshot of the missing and murdered Indigenous women & girls (MMIWG) crisis in—and the issues with data collection from—71 urban cities across the country. The third report will focus on the MMIWG crisis in a state setting.
- Red Ribbon Alert ProjectThe Red Ribbon Project is a app designed to help aid in the search for missing indigenous women through community networking.
- ReMatriate CollectiveReMatriate works to to put indigenous women back in control of the way they are represented and to honour the respected traditional roles Indigenous women held before colonization.
- Sovereign Body InstituteSovereign Bodies Institute builds on Indigenous traditions of data gathering and knowledge transfer to create, disseminate, and put into action research on gender and sexual violence against Indigenous people.
- Yakama Nation Victim Resource Group REDgaliaThe Yakama Nation Victim Resource Group provides resources and support to families with missing and murdered loved ones and to raise awareness of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.