THUNDER BAY – Bingwi Neyaashi Anishinaabek Health and Social Services will honour mothers, daughters, sisters, aunties, and grandmothers who have suffered from violence in their lives. Bingwi Neyaashi Anishinaabek (BNA) is hosting a full day event in Thunder Bay, Ontario, with the goal to bring together both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people to recognize the epidemic of violence perpetrated against thousands of Indigenous women and girls and to also acknowledge the future role of all community members in this challenge.
The event will feature a drum and smudge, Elder presentation, Faceless Dolls workshop, Beading workshop and will conclude with a Feast and Friendship Gathering Powwow.
Entertainment will include singer-songwriter Angus Jourdain. The Lac La Croix First Nation member’s music focuses on the empowerment of women and the preservation of Indigenous culture.
Admission to the event is free.
“The event is being held to really recognize what Indigenous women have gone through, continue to go through and learn how we can all become a part of the movement to end violence against Indigenous women. The workshops are meant to empower participants and keep us all connected to our heart, mind, spirit and body. We hope to re-energize our spirits;” says BNA Director of Health and Social Services, Edna Hodgkinson. “Our mothers and daughters, our sisters, aunties and grandmothers, are our heart and our spirit, always honoured and never forgotten.”
Statistics Canada reports that Indigenous women in Canada are three times more likely to face violence than non-Indigenous women.
