[IPSM] (MTL) March 14 & 16 Sisters in Spirit events

[Robin Taylor]

In March 2004, the Native Women’s Association of Canada launched a one-year
Sisters in Spirit campaign to recognize and honour 500 Aboriginal women
reported missing or murdered in the last 20 years in Canada
(www.sistersinspirit.ca). These women, instead of being the bearers of culture
for the next generations, “bore the markings of violent colonization.” The
Sisters in Spirit campaign seeks to respect and honour these women by ending
the silence and inaction that has continually erased violence against
Aboriginal women.

McGill activists that support and promote this campaign include the Union for
Gender Empowerment, the Aboriginal Students' Network, the Sexual Assault Centre
of McGill Students' Society. Additional support is provided by the First
Peoples' House and the McGill Centre for Research and Teaching on Women.

* Monday, March 14, 6pm
* SCREENING of "On the Corner"
* Cultural Studies screening room,
* 3475 Peel (at Sherbrooke, metro Peel)
* [We regret that this room is not accessible,
* there is one flight of outdoor stairs]

Screening of "On the Corner", starring Alex Rice and Simon Baker (Canada, 2003,
95 minutes). A story of an Aboriginal family, including Angel, who left the
Prince Rupert reserve and lives in Vancouver’s downtown eastside working on the
street, and her brother Randy, who left his foster home to find her.

* Wednesday, March 16, 5pm
* talk by AIYYANA MARACLE
* Lev Bukhman Council Room
* 2nd floor, 3480 Rue McTavish (at Sherbrooke, metro Peel)
* ramp-accessible building, elevator to room, and accessible washrooms

Aiyyana Maracle is an award-winning multidisciplinary artist based in Vancouver,
BC. Over the past two decades, she has produced work as a stage director in
theatre and opera, independant curator, writer, and visual and performance
artist. While continuing to maintain her practice, Aiyyana's current focus is
to complete her final year of a Master of Fine Arts / Interdisciplinary Arts
program at Goddard College in Vermont, and to explore options for where to
engage a PhD program in History and Cultural Studies.
	Her talk will describe her own journey from an abusive familial situation,
through the violence, drugs and despair of Vancouver's streets in the 70's, to
her persistent 20-year struggle to gain access to the academy.

More information at the Union for Gender Empowerment, 398-6823,
uge at ssmu.mcgill.ca, Room 633, 3480 Rue McTavish