Advocacy — Sisters Walking Together

50%

of federal segregation placements are Indigenous women, isolated from others for months and even years on administrative grounds. ^[2]

11x

more Indigenous women are incarcerated than non-Indigenous women in BC. ^[1]

90%+

of incarcerated Indigenous women have experienced sexual abuse and trauma. ^[3]

We advocate with and for Indigenous women impacted by incarceration.

The Sisters address unjust systems of incarceration and ongoing societal structures that lead to a disproportionate number of Indigenous women in Canadian prisons. We believe that justice work towards ending systemic oppression is vital, or else the harms will continue.

We educate the public about these injustices. And we bring awareness to the realities of life inside for incarcerated women. We do this by building networks of local groups, faith communities and residents who can advocate together.

Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, Calls to Action

We call upon the federal, provincial, and territorial governments to provide sufficient and stable funding to implement and evaluate community sanctions that will provide realistic alternatives to imprisonment for Aboriginal offenders and respond to the underlying causes of offending.

We call upon the federal government to eliminate barriers to the creation of additional Aboriginal healing lodges within the federal correctional system.

We call upon the federal, provincial, and territorial governments to work with Aboriginal communities to provide culturally relevant services to inmates on issues such as substance abuse, family and domestic violence, and overcoming the experience of having been sexually abused.

We call upon the federal government to provide more supports for Aboriginal programming in halfway houses and parole services.

Sources

[1] Statistics Canada, Indigenous women in Canada’s correctional system.

[2] Source to be confirmed for the federal segregation statistic.

[3] Source to be confirmed for the sexual abuse and trauma statistic.

The Native women on the Sisters team celebrate both our Indigeneity and our identity as women walking with Jesus. We support each other by following in the way of the matriarchs, in relationship with Creator and creation.

Jesus addressed injustice and Jesus experienced injustice

Jesus said:

"The Spirit of Creator has come to rest on me. He has chosen me to tell the good story to the ones who are poor. He has sent me to mend broken hearts, to tell prisoners they have been set free, to make the blind see again, and to lift up the ones who have been pushed down — to make known that Creator's Year of Setting Free has come at last!" Luke 4:16–19, First Nations Version

Jesus suffered under an unjust system: he was falsely arrested, tried, and executed. Then God raised him from the dead.
Jesus promises he will judge people based on whether they treated other human beings as if they were Jesus: "when I was in prison, you visited me." (Matthew 25:31–46)
"Remember those in prison as if you were with them in prison." (Hebrews 13:3)