2016 Aboriginal Day - What You Can Do To Effect Change

June 21st is National Aboriginal Day! Here are four simple yet meaningful ways you can get involved in your community:

Learn More
Aboriginal women remain socially and economically disadvantaged in Canada, and the factors contributing to these circumstances are numerous and complex. Here are just a few of the startling realities affecting Aboriginal women & families:

• --37% of First Nation women living off-reserve live in poverty.
• --Aboriginal women (First Nations, Inuit and Métis) are more than eight times more likely to be killed by their intimate partner than non-Aboriginal women.
• --Aboriginal women are 3.5 times more likely to be victims of violence compared to non-Aboriginal women. 
• --While the RCMP estimated that 1,012 Indigenous women were missing or murdered between 1980 and 2012, the number is expected to be higher than 1,200, and possibly as high as 4,000.
• --60% of First Nations children in Canada live in poverty.
• --Only 53% of murder cases involving Aboriginal women and girls have led to charges of homicide. This is dramatically different from the national clearance rate for homicides in Canada, which was last reported as 84%.
• --Suicide rates for First Nation youth are five to seven times higher than non-Aboriginal Canadians.
• --Although Indigenous women make up 4.3% of the Canadian population, they account for 16% of female homicides and 11.3% of missing women.

​There are many excellent online resources where you can learn more about these issues and what is needed to end the cycles of poverty, violence and injustices affecting Aboriginal women.  Awareness is the first step to breaking these tragic cycles.

Native Women’s Association of Canada
YWCA Canada
Quebec Native Women, Inc.    
Silent No More, The National Post

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Attend an Event in Your Community 

National Aboriginal Day is a day for all Canadians to recognize and celebrate the unique heritage, diverse cultures, and outstanding achievements and contributions of First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples. In 1996, it was proclaimed by then Governor Roméo LeBlanc to be celebrated on June 21st.

Find an event in your community!

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Take Action 

The Canadian government has listened to the voices of activists who have called for a national inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. A public inquiry into this human rights tragedy has been called. Throughout the inquiry process it is important to send a message to Indigenous women and families that people across this country—Indigenous and non-Indigenous people alike—are standing in solidarity with them.
 
Take the Amnesty International Pledge to Stand with Indigenous Women to End the Violence!

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​Send a Message of Support & Solidarity 

Although we are not accepting Shoebox gifts until the holiday season, we will happily accept cards and greetings for Aboriginal women experiencing homelessness and/or fleeing violence any time throughout the year, and will proudly forward them on to shelters and transitional homes serving Aboriginal women. Please send your messages of support and encouragement to:

The Shoebox Project for Shelters
720 Bathurst Street, Toronto, ON M5S 2R4

We would also ask you to consider making a $50 donation to our Aboriginal Women Fund. The Shoebox Project will use these funds to develop partnerships with more shelters and outreach centres serving Aboriginal women and to send Shoebox gifts specifically designed with love, respect, and support for this population.