Support the safety of Indigenous women: call on Manitoba Hydro to stop the violence now. | View in browser.

NO MORE VIOLENCE
AT MANITOBA HYDRO'S KEEYASK DAM

"When you’re walking around in your community and there’s men driving around looking for a woman, it’s scary. I wouldn’t send my grandchild to work there because it’s not safe.” – Cree elder from northern Manitoba

Dear John,

My name is Hilda, and I’m from O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation on the shores of South Indian Lake in northern Manitoba, a community devastated decades ago by Manitoba Hydro operations. Damming the rivers on our territory destroyed our whitefish industry, once the largest in North America.

It also led to violence against our women and girls, committed by men working for Manitoba Hydro.

What I know from my own community, and what I hear from other communities, is that when Manitoba Hydro comes to town, our women experience violence — and it needs to end now.

Every day, I work with the families of Indigenous women and girls who have gone missing, and with Indigenous women and girls from northern Manitoba who have experienced violence.

Community members tell me about the racist, sexist, and homophobic harassment and violence against Indigenous peoples, especially against Indigenous women, girls, and two-spirit people, in the camp housing workers building the Keeyask mega dam near the town of Gillam.

For decades, Indigenous peoples have asked Manitoba Hydro to address the harms they have caused to our lands, including the decimation of the fishing industry in my community. And harms like violence against our women and girls and two-spirit people.

For years, we have called on Manitoba Hydro to address the harassment and violence at the Keeyask dam construction camp. They have ignored us.

Most recently we called on Manitoba Hydro to close the Keeyask camp because of concerns that workers could spread COVID-19 to nearby First Nations. They ignored us again.

This pattern of ignoring community concerns must stop. The violence and harassment must stop.

Please join me in calling on Manitoba Hydro to take immediate action to stop the violence and harassment against Indigenous peoples, and particularly against women, girls, and two-spirit people, at the Keeyask dam.

Numerous studies in Canada and around the world conducted over more than three decades link resource development with factors that can lead to increased levels of gender-based violence. Governments—and crown corporations—have long known about these risks but have failed to address them.

Many of the women I speak to know this violence all too well. They report experiencing harassment and violence, including sexual violence, on the Keeyask construction site, in the worker camp and in nearby urban centres.

Some of these incidents have been reported to police, or to media. But fearing reprisals at work and mistrusting police, most incidents are reported to trusted community members. One woman who met with me and Amnesty staff described her experience:

“Violence against Aboriginal women has been so normalized we don’t recognize it. Racism is so normalized that we don’t recognize it. I didn’t know my rights. I didn’t know where to turn.”

First Nations partners in the dam project have called on Manitoba Hydro to urgently address the harassment and violence at the project site. Manitoba Hydro has said it is adequately addressing the situation. But the harassment and violence continue.

You can support the safety of Indigenous women by calling on Manitoba Hydro to take real action to stop the violence now.

Indigenous women, girls, and two-spirit people should not be experiencing violence so others can benefit economically. If there are resource projects happening in our territories, there must be mechanisms to protect us from all types of violence.

Thank you for supporting the safety of Indigenous women, girls, and two-spirit people in northern Manitoba today.

Sincerely,

Hilda Anderson-Pyrz
Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Liaison Unit Manager
Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak

P.S. My vision is that every little girl in every First Nation in Canada has a dream and is able to fulfill that dream, and our communities are thriving. You can help achieve this vision by joining our call for the violence to stop at the Keeyask project site now.