We stand with Dawn!
Grounded in almost two decades of organizing to raise awareness on genocidal femicide in Canada and supporting survivors, families, and communities impacted by MMIWG2S, Toronto-based community network, No More Silence, stands with Dawn Dumont and calls on progressive settler and Indigenous individuals and organizations to join us in demanding all charges involving her flight in an attempt to protect herself and her son be dropped and she be allowed to return home and reunited with her son.
We know that like us, many feared the worst as is most often the case when one of our community members vanishes under similar circumstances. In fact, in recent weeks not one but two beautiful young Indigenous women were confirmed dead in BC. The body of 20-year-old Tatyanna Harrison who had been missing since May was identified on August 5th. Kwemcxenalqs Manuel-Gottfriedson (24) was found dead in Vancouver’s downtown eastside on July 31st. Noelle O’Soup who was only 14 had also disappeared about a year ago. She died sometime in May in the same neighborhood. 24-year-old, Chelsea Poorman from Kawacatoose, Saskatchewan, had also been missing for more than a year – her body lay in a rich Vancouver neighborhood and was discovered in late April.
We are so grateful that Dawn is alive but she is not safe and needs to return home and be reunited with her son.
We are not surprised that Dawn could not rely on the police and child welfare agencies for protection since these are settler colonial institutions that were set up and function to protect white men. The National Inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous Women and Girls published its final report in 2019 which included 231 Calls to Justice of which a number specifically address the inaction of police and child welfare with regard to Indigenous women and girls facing danger and violence.
We admire Dawn’s strength and courage. We know that no one gives up their home, a successful career, friends, and family unless they have no choice. Dawn exercised her treaty rights in crossing over the colonial border and did what she had to do in order to protect herself and her son. If the settler colonial state won’t assist then community needs to step up. Join us in calling for Dawn to be allowed to return home and all charges to be dropped.
On behalf of No More Silence: Audrey Huntley, Terri Monture, Alex Wilson, Jeffrey McNeil and Wanda Whitebird.
No More Silence aims to develop an inter/national network to support the work being done by activists, academics, researchers, agencies, and communities to stop the murders and disappearances of Indigenous women, girls, trans, and Two-Spirit people – you can reach us at nomoresilenceorg@gmail.com.
