The Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations is hosting an event in Saskatoon next week that will try to find solutions to reducing violence against Aboriginal women.
The Indigenous Women Roundtable will take place at the Saskatoon Indian and Métis Friendship Centre next Thursday Feb. 19.
FSIN Interim Chief Kimberley Jonathan says violence against Indigenous women is a serious problem both provincially and nationally and it is important for people from all sectors to come together in an attempt to find workable solutions.
“Indigenous women are victims of violence at higher rates than non-Indigenous women and we really want to get to the bottom of this and provide workable strategies to address the issues here in Saskatchewan,” she says.
At the same time, Jonathan cautions the Saskatoon roundtable is just one step in the overall effort to address the issue of missing and murdered Aboriginal women and the priority remains continuing to put pressure on the Harper government to call a national inquiry.
“What’s important to remember is this does not at all take away from the strong united call that we are making from Saskatchewan for the national inquiry.”
The Assembly of First Nations will be hosting its own roundtable on missing and murdered Aboriginal women on Feb. 27 in Ottawa.
This Saturday also marks the Second Annual Memorial March for Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women and Girls.
As part of this event, a number of marches will take place in cities across the country including Saskatoon.
The Saskatoon march begins at 2 p.m. at city hall.
In 2009, it was reported that Indigenous women were nearly three times as more likely than non-Indigenous women to report being a victim of a violent crime.