Yellowknife to host circumpolar gathering of indigenous women

A new circumpolar leadership group lead by women will hold its first meeting next month in Yellowknife.

The agenda of the Indigenous Circumpolar Women’s Gathering inaugural meeting, to be held Nov. 12 to 15, includes workshops, panel discussions and cultural events, said an Oct. 6 news release issued by Dene Nahjo, an indigenous group “working to advance social and environmental justice for northern peoples and promote indigenous leadership.”

The gathering aims to highlight barriers and success stories facing women leaders throughout the North.

“It is also a crucial starting point for human capacity building, for political engagement and for leadership development through the circumpolar network,” Sheila Bassi-Kellet, executive lead for the gathering, said in the release.

Keynote speakers for the event include Inuit leader Mary Simon and Truth and Reconciliation of Canada commissioner Marie Wilson.

“All too often, women are discouraged or barred from entering high-profile jobs or political roles,” the event’s website says.

“Colonization has left many Arctic Indigenous communities with a patriarchal legacy of disrespecting women that tolerates and even condones violence against women and girls.”

An RCMP report released earlier this year seems to confirm this sentiment: it found missing and murdered Aboriginal women across Canada are most often victims of male family-members or friends.

The Conservative government faces mounting pressure to launch an official inquiry into missing and murdered Aboriginal women, but have so far refused to give in.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, whose government released an action plan to curb violence against Aboriginal women last month, told a press conference in August that the violence should be seen as a criminal matter, not a sociological phenomenon.

The Indigenous Circumpolar Women’s Gathering will not specifically address issues of violence, but will encourage mentoring and supportive relationships among leaders from around the world, the release said.

“Indigenous women have always played a leadership role in the circumpolar communities,” Nina Larsson, Dene Nahjo project lead, said in the release.

“This gathering will foster discussions around this role and showcase leadership in different fields from cultural revitalization and art to international initiatives.”