Centering Black Survivors in Gender-Based Violence Work

In this episode, Aubrianna Snow, Audrey Huntley, and Alannah McKay join us to discuss occupying colonial spaces as Indigenous women, justice for MMIWG2S, and the healing power of auntie laughter.

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CONTENT NOTE

This episode discusses the epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, trans and two spirit people. Although there are no descriptions of sexual violence on this podcast, any conversation about sexual or gender-based violence can be hard to hear. Listen in a way that feels safe for you. If you need support, there are resources like sexual assault support centres in your community that you can reach out to. See our list here of supports available by province.

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FURTHER LEARNING

Courtney Skye’s Courage To Act’s webinar, Anti-Colonial Approaches to Addressing GBV with Indigenous Communities; and worksheet, Answering Calls for Justice within PSIs from the National Inquiry on MMIWG, are wonderful resources.

For more great Indigenous feminist resources, see:

Violence on the Land, Violence on Our Bodies, from Women's Earth Alliance & Native Youth Sexual Health Network

Red Women Rising: Indigenous Survivors in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, by Carol Muree Martin & Harsha Walia, Downtown Eastside Women's Centre

You Are Made of Medicine, A Mental Health Peer Support Manual for Indigiqueer, Two-Spirit, LGBTQ+, and Gender Non-Conforming Indigenous youth, from the Native Youth Sexual Health Network

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ABOUT OUR GUESTS

Aubrianna Snow (she/her) is a k'taqmkuk lnu'skw visitor in Treaty Six, where she has lived for most of her life. A recent graduate of MacEwan’s Bachelor of Communications program, gender-based violence prevention and community building are passions she’s explored during her time in postsecondary. During her second term as Vice President Student Life at the Students’ Association of MacEwan University (SAMU), Aubrianna founded the Student Voice on Violence Elimination Committee as a means of advocacy to SAMU and to university administration. Prior to her time as an elected student leader, Aubrianna volunteered as a MAVEN Peer Educator on consent and sexual violence with MacEwan’s Office of Sexual Violence Prevention, Education, & Response.

Audrey Huntley (she/her) is a licensed paralegal who works with survivors of violence at Aboriginal Legal Services. She is a storyteller and the co-founder of No More Silence, working with other Indigenous women, trans and two-spirit people. Audrey finds strength in the strong community networks No More Silence is building across Turtle Island and beyond. One of her recent works, the short film Not Just Another Case: When Your Loved One Has Gone Missing or Been Murdered was created to empower Indigenous community members and provide alternatives to the mainstream institutions that fail them. Smudge, Don't Judge: Assisting Trans and Two-Spirit Survivors of Violence, a collaboration with Monica Forrester of Maggie’s Sex Worker Action Project and Trans Pride Canada, is geared to service providers and addresses the homophobia and transphobia that prevents many Indigenous people from reporting or seeking assistance.

Alannah Mckay (she/her/kwe) is an Anishinaabe-Anishininew Ikwe with roots from Berens River, Manitoba and Muskrat Dam, Ontario. She is a daughter, sister, auntie and advocate based in Treaty 1 territory in Winnipeg, MB. Alannah is a student at the University of Manitoba, where she is pursuing an undergraduate degree in Indigenous Studies & Criminology. She is the former Chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students, where she represented over half a million post-secondary students on a national level. Alannah is the Policy Capacity Coordinator for the Canadian Roots Exchange, a national Indigenous youth-led orga...