[Wamvan] Fwd: Indigenous Women's Declaration - July 6, 2011.Indigenous women are invited to sign on & non-Indigenous women invited to sign on In Solidarity

[Natalie Hill]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Aboriginal Women's Action Network <awan.bc at gmail.com>
Date: Sun, Jul 17, 2011 at 11:31 AM
Subject: Indigenous Women's Declaration - July 6, 2011.Indigenous women are
invited to sign on & non-Indigenous women invited to sign on In Solidarity
To: nhill10 at gmail.com


http://www.facebook.com/notes/aboriginal-womens-action-network/declaration-presented-by-awan-members-cherry-smiley-fay-blaney-at-womens-worlds-/10150229870221691

*Indigenous Women's Declaration*
July 6, 2011.

As Indigenous women living on occupied territories now known as Canada, who
have survived over 500 years of attempted genocide, we declare:

1. We, Indigenous women, will not allow anyone or anything to break the ties
that bind us. Despite the impacts of colonialism - the racism, sexism,
poverty and violence that pervade our lives and communities, working to
divide us both inside and out - we are profoundly aware of our connected
ness to each other as women, to our ancestors, and to our lands. No man,
men, or external force will ever ultimately sever these ties.

2. Our analysis of prostitution as a form of violence against women and as a
system of colonialism is the result of over five centuries of resistance
stories, stories told to us by our Grandmothers, who have retold the stories
of their Grandmothers, who have retold the stories of their Grandmothers.
This analysis is based on our own life experiences, on the life experiences
of our mothers, our sisters, and all our relations. It is based on theory
and knowledge constructed collectively by Indigenous women.

3. Purposeful legal tolerance of prostitution and pornography, as with the
Indian Act and the residential school system, was and is an external
colonial system imposed on Indigenous women and girls in continued attempts
to harm and destroy us.

4. We, Indigenous women, reject the racist assumption that prostitution was
ever part of our traditional practices. We denounce the idea that we are
objects to be bought and sold.

5. We, Indigenous women, reject the capitalism that has resulted in the
theft and destruction of our homelands and our environment. We reject the
International capitalism and greed that also drives the “sex industry”, an
industry that regards Indigenous women and girls as objects to be sold at
the highest price, should we survive the transaction. We reject the colonial
terminology of “sex work”, as it hides the racist, sexist, and classist
realities of prostitution. “Sex work” masks the violence that our sisters
struggle against on a daily basis and repackages that violence as a form of
freely chosen labour.

6. We, Indigenous women, reject the imposition of patriarchy, which has had
devastating and deadly effects for Indigenous women and girls. We face male
violence within our own families and communities, and often we are pushed
out of these very communities seeking safety. We are forced to migrate into
cities where we continue to face physical, emotional, and sexual violence at
the hands of men, including at the hands of johns, pimps, brothel owners,
and traffickers. We demand a return to our traditional values that place
women and girls in high esteem.

7. The Nordic model of state policy will give Indigenous women and girls the
best chance of not only survival, but life. This model includes law reform
that criminalizes the male demand for paid sex and decriminalizes
prostituted women, offers comprehensive social programs to all women and
girls, and educates the public about prostitution as a form of male violence
against women and girls. We, Indigenous women, believe this model encourages
true social change that works in our interest.

8. We, Indigenous women, reject the total decriminalization and/or
legalization of prostitution as an acceptable solution to sexual violence.
The total decriminalization and/or legalization of prostitution only
encourages the racist and deadly male demand for access to the bodies of
women and girls, with Indigenous women and girls being disproportionately
targeted.

9. We, Indigenous women, reject the patriarchal, colonial, and capitalist
male perception that our sole worth is as sexual objects. We recognize that
prostitution and pornography, incest, physical and sexual assault, and
murder exist on a continuum of male violence and hatred toward Indigenous
women and girls. The tragic outcome of that hatred is the over 580
documented cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls in
Canada.

10. We, Indigenous women and girls, have survived over 500 years of attacks
on our cultures, our bodies, our lands, and our lives. We refuse to abandon
our future generations to the colonial sexist violence that is prostitution
and we demand an immediate end to the male demand for paid sex.


*All Indigenous Women - First Nations, Inuit, Metis - who are in agreement
with this Declaration are invited to sign on as individual endorsers or
organizations. You can contact us at awan.bc at gmail.com to do so.*

**Update: Due to demand we are compiling a solidarity list for non native
women and orgs to sign in support of the declaration**
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