"Please don't hurt her; that little girl is my world." Missing Women.

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,It is almost Women's History month. While the official theme this year is "women and Sport" Aboriginal women will be drawing attention to missing and murdered women the first week of October.Some 520 aboriginal women have been murdered or have gone missing in Canada since 1970. More than half of the cases have occurred since 2000. More than two-thirds of the total number of women have been found dead, while 25 per cent are still missing. The number is growing. Here are a few cases which have gotten a little media attention in the past few weeks.


Hillary Bonnell’s Mom pleas: “Whoever has her, please don't hurt her; that little girl is my world."

16 year old Hillary Bonnell spent part of the summer in the Mi’kmaw community of Burnt Church, in New Brunswick. On September 5th she attended a late night party in the community. A friend gave Hilary a lift to a main highway, the well-travelled Route 11, about two kilometres from her aunt's house where she planned to spend the night. It was around 3 am, as she walked down the highway to her aunt’s when Bonnell telephoned her mother, Pam Fillier, who was in nearby Miramichi, reminding her they were to go shopping for new school clothes the next day. Hilary never made it to her aunt's house. Surveillance video taken from 4D's convenience store on the corner of Micmac Road and the well-travelled Route 11 showed the missing girl was there at about 7:30 a.m. Saturday and appeared to be alone. The last known communication with Hilary took place later Saturday morning when she sent a text message to her cousin, which indicated she was scared and wanted to “get away” but did not say where she was. Since that message was sent, Hilary’s cellphone has either been disconnected or drained of batteries, since all attempts to reach her have been unsuccessful. She had no purse, makeup, change of clothes, or cash
Hilary is aboriginal, has dark eyes and black, shoulder-length hair. She is 5-5 and weighs about 134 pounds. She was last seen wearing a purple T-shirt, a black sweater, jean shorts and sandals. Her community is offering a $15,000 reward to anyone with information that leads to her discovery. http://www.helpfindmychild.net/hilary-bonnell


"Claudette'd family: She is a mother of 4 beautiful children who need her to tuck them in at night and tell them she loves them. Claudette is a good mother and they need her home."

21-year old Claudette 'Penny Tyo.' Osbourne, mother of four, disappeared 14 days after giving birth to her baby girl. Shortly before she disappeared, Claudette called her boyfriend and indicated to us that she was haemorrhaging. She has been missing since July 24, 2008 and was last seen near Selkirk Avenue and Charles Street in Winnipeg. Osborne is 5'7", 145 lbs, and was wearing black pin striped pants, black v-necked t-shirt with a ruffled collar. There is a $20,000 reward for information leading to her discovery., If you have any information please call: Police Missing Persons Unit at 986-6250 Crimestoppers at 786-8477 Manitoba Search and Rescue: George Leonard 777-0553


Maisy's Grandmother: "Not knowing if she's alive or dead, that's the hardest thing."

(Kitigan Zibi, Quebec) Maisy Odjick’s treasures, her flute, her camera and treasured photos are still where she left them at the home of her grandparents, where she usually stayed. There is still a pillow on the arm of the brown fold-out couch where Maisy slept, and her clothes are still in the white cupboard in the corner. Her family got a cake for her last birthday and put gifts under the tree for her at Christmas in case she came home. Maisy Odjick was last seen with her friend Shannon Alexander, who is also missing on Sept. 6, 2008. At the time, Odjick was 16 and Alexander was 17. Shannon’s father Bryan said he has been waiting by the phone for months, hoping someone who knows the girls' whereabouts will call. The two girls were heading to a dance, on a Saturday night, and planned a sleepover at Bryan’s home. Bryan had left for the weekend to help his sone paint his home. When her returned he found the doors to his house locked, while inside, the girls had left their purses, their wallets, their identification, their backpacks — even Shannon's medication. But the girls themselves where nowhere to be found.
There is a 13,000 reward for information leading to the discovery of the girls.
Maisy Odjick, now 17, is six-feet tall, 125 pounds and has brown hair and brown eyes. Maisy has two piercings on her bottom lip and one in her nose. Shannon Alexander, now 18, is five feet nine inches, 145 pounds and also has brown hair and brown eyes.
Anyone with information should contact the Kitigan Zibi Police at 819-449-6000.

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Expecting flu assistance, native reserves get body bags from Ottawa

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This has been a disaster, from Day 1. It's not so much the fact that the government sent body bags. Clearly these are necessary as part of a pandemic plan. However, the fact that it took months to get basic safety supplies up to northern First Nations communities coupled with the fact that it took no time to get a supply of body bags up, well... need I say more? The one good thing I can say is that at least federal Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq didn't duck and buck this time. In the past the Health Minister refused to address the problems, maintained everything is fine. Finally she stepped up took some responsibility and ordered an investigation. Too bad it took so long. The whole shameful mismanagement of H1N1 in First Nations in Manitoba should have been investigated long ago. Full article below.


Expecting flu assistance, native reserves get body bags from Ottawa

Toronto — From Thursday's Globe and Mail
Last updated on Wednesday, Sep. 16, 2009 09:57PM EDT


They asked for help and got body bags.

Aboriginal leaders said they were outraged and confused when dozens of body bags were delivered to remote Manitoba reserves after native communities demanded federal resources to fight a second wave of the H1N1 flu outbreak.

Chiefs interpreted the grim shipments as a dire prediction of what Ottawa expects will happen during this flu season to natives, who were hardest hit by swine flu in the spring.

Some communities didn't hold on to them for long. In a symbolic protest Wednesday evening, northern First Nations leaders returned a box of the bags to a Health Canada office in Winnipeg. Tossing more than a dozen of the polyethylene bags on the floor outside the building's lobby, Garden Hill First Nation chief David Harper called the deliveries “an insult.”

The federal government was left scrambling late Wednesday to explain the shipments, which also included hand sanitizer, masks and gloves.

Each bag contained full post-mortem kits that included a chin strap, five tie-straps and three identification tags.

The news of the unexpected supplies rippled through remote communities of less than 1,000 people, shocking residents and adding to native leaders' distrust of the federal government's efforts to help them prepare for a resurgence of the virus.

About 30 body bags were delivered in recent days to the nursing station at Wasagamack First Nation, 20 to God's Lake First Nation, and Red Sucker Lake First Nation was expecting a shipment. The communities are in the lake-studded Island Lake region near the Ontario border, about midway between Winnipeg and the Hudson Bay.

Mr. Harper was joined at the Winnipeg protest last night by Wasagamack Chief Jerry Knott.

“Is Canada giving up on the first nations?” Mr. Harper asked in an interview. “We're very offended. It looks like Canada is giving up on us. Or is this the flu preparedness that Canada talks about?”

In many First Nations cultures, to prepare for death is to invite death, he said.

“We have been waiting for medical supplies and here all we receive is body bags,” he said. “The government has to do better.”

Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq said she was “disturbed” when she learned about the shipments Wednesday morning.

“I have ordered my deputy minister to conduct a thorough and immediate inquiry into the situation and I will continue to work with first nations, provinces and territories to ensure all Canadians are informed and protected against H1N1,” she said at a news briefing.

She declined to comment on who sent the body bags or who may have requested them.

The shipment is another blow to native leaders, who fear they are among the least prepared for another wave of the flu and that the federal government isn't properly responding to their needs.

The mild flu outbreak in the spring erupted into a full-blown crisis on several of Manitoba's remote reserves. At one point, aboriginals comprised two-thirds of Manitoba flu patients on respirators. Health Canada came under fire for hesitating to send hand sanitizer to native towns because of concerns that people would ingest the alcohol-based gel.

The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs took it upon itself recently to solicit donations for 15,000 flu kits for northern communities. And even though aboriginal affairs is a federal responsibility, the Manitoba government stepped up to cover the rest of the cost.

Ms. Aglukkaq said nursing stations on reserves are being stocked with medical supplies, and the kits are likely not necessary.

Rod Harper, a spokesman for the band council of the Wasagamack First Nation, 600 kilometres north of Winnipeg, said body bags are not the supplies needed at nursing stations.

“It's not the proper thing to do to all our communities. It's very shocking,” he said.

He said he had seen a box of 10 bags that had been brought to the band council office and was explicitly labelled.

“What we had asked for stockpiling were Advil, Tylenol, vaccine, not body bags. It's the easy way out for the government… It's not right to do that.”

Further north, at the Red Sucker Lake First Nation, the band council heard at a meeting with the staff of the nursing station that body bags would be sent to their community. The council questioned the head nurse after it heard that other native communities had received the bags.

“We asked her about the body bags and she said: ‘They're coming,'” said council member Clifford Harper. “I feel kind of angry. They should send more medications, they should send more personnel … rather than body bags. Why are they doing this?”

By the end of the day, the outrage had rippled to Winnipeg. “First Nations and all Canadians need to know the whole story behind this bizarre shipment and they deserve a full accounting,” Grand Chief Ron Evans of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs said in a statement. “The First Nations of northern Manitoba have already been traumatized in the first wave of the H1N1 outbreak; they do not need to be panicked.”

The parliamentary health committee has requested the minister share details of the inquiry at or around its next meeting later this month.


Other posts on this topic:
June 10: No Doctors, No Nurses, but emergency hand sanitizer is on its way
June 6: If it isn't racism, what is it?
June 5: Feds slow to respond to First Nation pandemic planning: Manitoba
June 4: Another update H1N1
June 3:More on H1N1 at St. Theresa Point First Nation
June 2: Please follow this story. Please write to your MP

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NWAC Elections coming up

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Beverley Jacaobs, the current president of the Native Women's Association of Canada will not be seeking re-election this year. Elections will be held at the AGA, to be held at the Crowne Plaza in Ottawa, September 26th to 27th, 2009. As far as I can tell (correct me if I am wrong) President Jacobs is the only president to ever serve 2 terms. She has done excellent work on raising awareness on the issue of violence against women, and NWAC has done excellent outreach under her leadership in terms of providing toolkits to families nd communities to make them aware of their rights when a family member is missing.

So who will replace Ms. Jacobs? Well according to their election rules, to be a nominee for the position of President of Native Women’s Association of Canada, you MUST be: An Aboriginal woman; A delegate of the PTMA in which you reside; Nominated by a delegate of the PTMA in which you reside Seconded by a delegate of a different PTMA In attendance at the AGA. They are encouraging nominations to come in before the AGA, but according to their by-laws nominations can still come in pretty much last minute on the floor.

There are two interesting rumours about who will rune. The first is that the President of the ONtario branch, Dawn Harvard will choose to run, and if she does she will be a favourite for many. Perhaps more interesting is the rumor that a former president, Marilyn Buffalo is seeking a nomination. If you have runours gossip of speculation, feel free to post away.

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Outcome of CAP elections

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There was no follow up media from Bill Curry on the CAP (Congress of aboriginal Peoples elections, so for those who are wondering the winner was: It's Betty Ann Lavallée. Here's her official Bio. Kevin Daniels, was acting as inter-rim until the election has returned to his post as National Vice-Chief.

Find Betty Ann Lavallée's offical biography, below.

The new National Chief of the Congress of Aboriginal People and the Chief of the New Brunswick Aboriginal Peoples Council for the past 13 years is Ms. Betty Ann Lavallée, CD.(RTD), a status off-reserve Mi’kmaq woman who has worked all her adult life in non-traditional roles. Ms. Lavallée had also completed a term as the Vice-Chief of the NBAPC prior to being elected Chief in August of 1997. Ms. Lavallée has an extensive background in administration, transportation, business, and leadership management and has been active on numerous Boards as a Director, both Provincially and Nationally, and Committees that have dealt with Aboriginal Issues such as Fisheries, Housing, Education, Employment and Training, Economic Development and Health.

Ms. Lavallée was a member of the Canadian Armed Forces for approximately 17 years, where she was awarded the Canadian Forces Decoration and Commendation Formation Level and the Queen’s 50th Anniversary Jubilee Medal. Ms. Lavallée grew up in the military community of Oromocto, New Brunswick. Joining first as a reservist with 1 RNBR, Fredericton, then transferred over to the Regular Forces in 1980, where she was posted to Base Transportation Company, CFB Gagetown, in August immediately following her recruit and basic training. Ms. Lavallée remained at CFB Gagetown until August of 1988 when she was posted to 2 SVC BN, Special Service Force at CFB Petawawa, Ontario. In 1993, she was transferred back to CFB Gagetown, New Brunswick where she remained with the Technical Services Branch, Transportation Company until her retirement in April of 1996 when she left to take on the job of Economic Development Officer for Wabanaki Enterprises Inc., an off-reserve Economic Development Corporation

Ms. Lavallée is the daughter of John(Jack) and Rhoda Bernard of Geary, New Brunswick. She is married to Battery Sergeant Major J. S. Michael Lavallée, CD2 who is currently serving at 67(Depot) BTY, The Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery School at CFB Gagetown . They have a 32 year old son, Sgt. Trevor Lavallée, CD (RCR), 1 PL Training Co. Parachute Instructor, Canadian Advance Warfare Center, CFB Trenton. She is the proud grandmother of 3 year old, Kaden John William Lavallée and 2 year old, Ethan Michael Brian Lavallee.

Ms. Lavallée has a keen interest in Aboriginal Issues as well as Domestic and International politics. She is a stanch advocate for employment for women in non-traditional roles and very protective of inherent rights for the Off-Reserve Aboriginal People of Canada.

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The Epidemic of Continuing Violence Against Indigenous Women

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If your in the Ottawa Area this is an event that you may want to attend. This event is also a fundraiser for Laurie Odjick and her family for their struggle to find Maisy Odjick (her daughter) and Shannon Alexander, Anishinabeg teenagers from Kitigan Zibi, who have been missing since September 5th, 2008 (http://www.findmaisyandshannon.com/), and to support organizing to end violence against Indigenous women.



In solidarity with Indigenous Women across Turtle Island please join us in an evening of understanding The Epidemic of Continuing Violence Against Indigenous Women

6:30 PM Wednesday, September 16th, 2009
Auditorium, National Library and Archives
395 Wellington St. Ottawa , Algonquin Territory
Wheelchair Accessible
Free! Everyone is Welcome.

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ordained priestess of the cult of the hairy legged feminazi's

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LOL- I wish I had coined that phrase but it is not mine. I have stolen it. Very funny post. Read "I am a member of the left wing fringes!" at Creative Revolution.

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Patrick Brazeau, the scandal continues,

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Frankly, I have blogged myself to death on this dude. But the scandal surrounding Senator Patrick Brazeau continues. I don't have anything left to add. Let's wait and see if "Bad Anon" comes a trolling to try to defend this one.

Bill Curry

Ottawa — From Saturday's Globe and Mail
Friday, Sep. 11, 2009 10:34PM EDT


Members of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples expressed shock over the “disturbing” financial situation left behind by Patrick Brazeau as they gathered for the first time since their former national chief was appointed to the Senate.

Delegates of the off-reserve aboriginal organization met in Ottawa Friday to elect a new national chief, but the vote was overshadowed by a report showing the congress posted a major deficit last year after a federal department demanded it pay back hundreds of thousands of dollars in expenses that had been ruled ineligible.

Beyond the mounting debt, delegates expressed concern when told Mr. Brazeau received severance when he left the organization, that he routinely flew first-class on congress business, and that a big-screen television for his office was originally described as a gift from the organization's auditor and then later paid for by the congress as an expense.

In a financial report tabled Friday at the congress meeting, national vice-chief Betty Anne Lavalée wrote that she first saw the organization's finances in February and found them “very disturbing,” a view she later voiced publicly in presenting her report to the delegates.

Ms. Lavallée wrote that she uncovered cheques that were issued without the required approval of the board of directors.

“Also, valuable items had been given away or removed from the building,” she wrote.

She clarified in an interview that the items were pieces of aboriginal art and one Inuit carving that was donated to charity.

“This entire situation, quite frankly, makes me ill,” she wrote.Delegates were still voting for a new national chief late Friday night. It is a position that involves taking part in first-ministers meetings and raising off-reserve issues with the prime minister and federal ministers. The congress receives about $5-million a year from Ottawa.

Ms. Lavallée was elected chief last night on the second ballot. The three other candidates for national chief included Kevin Daniels, Brad Maggrah and Alvin Chartrand. All four supported the need to advocate for improved social conditions for off-reserve aboriginals and to fight for the congress's provincial affiliates that are looking for federal funds.

The Globe and Mail reported in January that Health Canada has frozen its funding to the congress and was demanding repayment of up to $260,000 in expenses that were deemed ineligible. According to Ms. Lavallée, who took over responsibility for the congress's finances as interim vice-chief in January, that story led other departments to launch similar audits.

One of those audits by a branch of Indian Affairs called the Office of the Federal Interlocutor concluded that the congress must pay back $529,880 in expenses from the fiscal years 2004 to 2006. Mr. Brazeau worked at the congress from 2001 to 2008. He was elected vice-chief, with responsibility for the organization's finances, in 2005 and became national chief in 2006.

In an e-mail, Mr. Brazeau, who was named a Conservative senator nine months ago, said delegates were informed of the audit findings at last year's gathering. He said the television was not a gift from an auditor and that it remains the property of the congress. He also defended his first-class flights.

“As per standard policy and practice at CAP, executive members of the Congress often flew business class and/or utilized upgrade certificates,” he wrote.

“Ms. Lavallée, along with all other board members of the congress were given a full, open and transparent quarterly report regarding the financial state of affairs of the Congress,” he wrote. “All board members were given financial updates and had the opportunity to ask questions on the financial management of CAP's affairs.”

Mr. Brazeau built his reputation as national chief as an advocate for financial accountability among native leaders. He was particularly critical of native chiefs and the Assembly of First Nations, the larger national native group made up of chiefs from Canada's more than 600 reserves.

Mr. Brazeau has said that he was aware of the government's financial concerns and worked as national chief to improve the accountability of the organization.

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