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Suncor Indigenous Employees, Lana and Joy Want Everyone To Be an Ally on Red Dress Day and Beyond
NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / May 11, 2023 / Suncor Energy Originally published on May 5, 20...
About this update from Suncor Energy Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"Suncor Indigenous Employees, Lana and Joy Want Everyone To Be an Ally on Red Dress Day and BeyondNORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / May 11, 2023 / Suncor EnergyOriginally published on May 5, 2023Lana Hill, who is a trusted advisor to many young Indigenous people in Fort McMurray Wood Buffalo, holds her own teenage daughter closer each time the name of another missing Indigenous person is released. Joy Flett is the knowledge keeper for her close and extended relatives, but pieces of her family tree have been stolen, and she feels a heartache that is shared by countless other Indigenous families across Canada. Both women will be wearing red on May 5.Also known as Red Dress Day, May 5 marks a day to honour, remember and create awareness and action for Missing, Murdered and Exploited Indigenous Peoples (MMEIP) in Canada. The statistics are startling -Indigenous women in Canada today are seven times more likely than non-Indigenous women to be a murder victim, and three times more likely to be violently or sexually assaulted.Lana, originally from Cowessess First Nation in Saskatchewan, and Joy, from the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation in Alberta, are part of Suncor's Indigenous and Community Relations team in Fort McMurray, Alta. They both agree that more action is needed to end the MMEIP crisis.\"Since the time of residential schools and everything leading to today, we've been stripped of our names, our languages, our hair. To be able to take back our power and voice, we need to keep speaking out against what is happening,\" says Joy. \"There are so many Indigenous people who've gone missing or have been murdered in our own city. We need to continue to say their names. They are important to somebody. We can all play a role in ending the violence.\"One of the national organizations helping to move the needle with this progress is the Native Women's Association of Canada (NWAC). For almost 50 years NWAC has played a lead role in advocating for the rights of Indigenous women, girls, two-spirit, transgender and gender-diverse people, which includes critical advocacy on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG2S+) and reconciliation. The organization has been pressing the federal government to act since the National Inquiry issued the 231 Calls for Justice in 2019.When reflecting on Red Dress Day, NWAC urges Canadians to consid...