Give to Two-Spirit Peoples, Indigenous Women and Girls

Image by Edna Winti

Today marks the National Day of Awareness of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. This day is originally commemorated in colonial United States of America as a congressional resolution, which was first drafted in memory of Hanna Harris (Northern Cheyenne) who was murdered July 2013.

As Two-Spirit peoples, Indigenous Women, and Girls continue to go missing and murdered across Turtle Island and globally, we are constantly reminded that this genocide requires more attention and action from institutions, organizations, and individuals. Today is also a day to educate and raise awareness by starting with the following reports:

• Reclaiming Power and Place: The Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls and the calls for justice
• Red Women Rising: Indigenous Women Survivors in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside

As today is also Giving Tuesday, in light of the emergency funding that organizations need due to COVID-19, we would like to highlight organizations that support Indigenous women, girls, and Two-Spirit peoples directly. We encourage you to be generous with your gifts, and to urge your connections to learn the truth about these lands, and how Two-Spirit peoples, Indigenous women, and girls are still disproportionately represented in injustices since first contact with colonizers.

While we acknowledge that this list does not include all organizations that support Two-Spirit people, Indigenous women and girls, we hope that this list provides a great start for those looking to share their financial wealth today. Please give generously.

Within BC

• Aboriginal Mother Centre – Provide for the urgent needs including toilet paper for the elders, canned goods, wipes, diapers, infant formula and any cleaning supplies.
• Battered Women’s Support Services – Support services run by Indigenous women for Indigenous women. The Indigenous Women Program’s support workers use traditional healing practices while working with women survivors of trauma and colonization.
• BC Association of Aboriginal Friendship Centres – Find your local friendship centre and donate to support community hubs that offer culturally safe social services, programs, and spaces to connect with others.
• Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre – Contribute to the cultural programming which will provide counseling and emotional support to women around multiple issues including residential school, substance use, cultural isolation and violence, and includes arts and crafts, healing circles, visits to sweat lodges, and mentorship from Elders.
• Unist’ot’en Camp – Donate to stop the pipelines and help make sure that residents have food and medical supplies, that Unist’ot’en Youth are able to visit their territories, that Wet’suwet’en Elders have the necessary materials on the land to teach traditional hunting, gathering, food processing, language skills, songs, stories and more.
• Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs – Work together to protect the land, water and wildlife of this beautiful land.
• Urban Native Youth Association – support, resources, and programming for Indigenous youth, ages 15 to 30, who identify as 2-spirit or LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, gender non-conforming, along with many other identities), and for those who are questioning their sexual or gender identities.
• WISH Vancouver – Donate to the Aboriginal Health & Safety Program (AHSP), a culturally-relevant program helping Indigenous women involved in the sex trade reclaim their culture.

Across Turtle Island

• Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women – Donate to stop violence against Native women and children by advocating for social change in our communities.
• Fondo Semillas – Help Indigenous women in Mexico fight for their right to own land.
• Indian Residential School Survivors Society – Help provide services to Indian Residential School Survivors.
• Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women USA – Help missing and murdered American Indian women and their families.
• Native Women’s Association of Canada – Support women and families of many Indigenous Nations.
• Women’s Earth Alliance – Support Indigenous women leaders as they promote indigenous women’s land rights in 5 Mexican states

If you would like your organization listed, please send an email with a link to your program supporting Indigenous women, girls, and Two-Spirit peoples to communityengagement@feministsdeliver.com.