By Mike Graeme, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter INDIGINEWS

In W瘫SANE膯 communities and beyond, itB次元官网网址檚 the women who hold everything together, says Matriarch Tracy Underwood.

B次元官网网址淭he SEN膯O纽EN word for women is S冉ANI,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淎nd if you look it up in our SEN膯O纽EN dictionary, youB次元官网网址檒l see the second definition of the word is `a knitting stitch.B次元官网网址� And that brings a whole new perspective to womenB次元官网网址檚 place in the fabric of society.B次元官网网址�

Underwood is the president of the non-profit XAXE TE峁圗W瘫 Sacred Land Society (XTSLS), which recently launched the Rematriate Stewardship project. The project is meant to bring housing and land to Salish women and their families on southern Vancouver Island so they can better steward their unceded homelands.

The Rematriate Stewardship project kicked off its first fundraising campaign at 冉AU, WEL峁圗W瘫 Tribal School in W瘫JO冉E冉P (B次元官网网址淭sartlipB次元官网网址�) on Red Dress Day earlier this month with the goal of raising $400,000 by Aug. 5.

The group ultimately wants to provide a 20 per cent downpayment on an acreage on southern Vancouver Island as a tangible way to restore the sacred relationship between Matriarchs and their lands and their waters. The site itself has not been decided yet but they are currently working with a realtor to secure something once the down payment is in place.

The W瘫SANE膯 Nation itself has re-established ownership of unceded sites B次元官网网址� 染IKEL and SIS然ENEM B次元官网网址� in recent years after creating its own land trust. XTSLS is the latest organization working to fund the return of Salish lands, which were never given up by their original owners.

The timing of the fundraiser launch on the same day as Red Dress Day was intentional, said Rematriate Stewardship project lead Tiffany Joseph.

B次元官网网址淚t was because of the murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls epidemic that I wanted to start doing some work with our people to get land back,B次元官网网址� she said.

B次元官网网址淟and is critical for us to begin to heal, practice our culture, and access foods and medicines. ItB次元官网网址檚 time everyone understood the impact of missing and murdered Indigenous relatives and worked together to provide safe space for us.B次元官网网址�

According to the Assembly of First Nations, 56 per cent of all Indigenous women have suffered from physical assault, while 46 per cent have been sexually assaulted.

The 2019 National Inquiry into MMIWG reported that Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQ+ people B次元官网网址渆xperience disproportionately high rates of poverty and insurmountable barriers to obtaining secure housing, food, education, employment, transportation, and other basic needs,B次元官网网址� which decreases their safety and increases the levels of violence they face.

B次元官网网址淚 constantly say we are in an ongoing genocide that has never stopped,B次元官网网址� said Georgina Underwood, who sits on the Board of XTSLS and is a great-grandmother of 14. B次元官网网址淭he Rematriate Stewardship project ensures women have voices B次元官网网址� that women will rise up to speak on their own behalf, and find their identity.B次元官网网址�

The national inquiry concluded that the gendered violence B次元官网网址渁mounts to a race-based genocide of Indigenous Peoples, including First Nations, Inuit and Metis, which especially targets women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people.B次元官网网址�

In response, the inquiry laid out a series of actions for all governments to take, emphasizing the need for B次元官网网址渟afe, permanent, and meaningful access for Indigenous women, girls and Two Spirit/LGBTQ+ people to their cultures and languages in order to restore, reclaim and revitalize cultures and identity.B次元官网网址�

The inquiry also emphasized the need for Indigenous women to have safe housing, clean drinking water, and adequate food.

Tracy Underwood said the genocide Indigenous women experience stems from the values of settler society in Canada, which have been entrenched through policies such as the Indian Act.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 the way Canada devalues dark-skinned women that is the root of the issue. And that goes back to how the Indian Act disadvantaged us,B次元官网网址� she said.

B次元官网网址淪o to me, empowering our young women to use their voices and know their value is important because itB次元官网网址檚 preparing them not to be a part of the murdered and missing. And to get there, we need to provide safe places for them.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淭he band council system, the reserve system, theyB次元官网网址檙e all still imposed through the Indian Act,B次元官网网址� she added. B次元官网网址淎nd immediately, there are inherent harms and difficulties layered in it.B次元官网网址�

The Indian Act, created by the federal government in 1876, has also been a central tool used to deny women the right to inherit their ancestral lands. Under the reserve system, only widows could B次元官网网址減ossessB次元官网网址� land, and even then a widow B次元官网网址渃ould not inherit her husbandB次元官网网址檚 personal property upon his death B次元官网网址� everything, including the family house, legally went to his children,B次元官网网址� according to Indigenous Foundations.

In 1884, government agents modified the Act slightly to allow men to will their estate to their wives, but Indian agents could still deny Indigenous women this inheritance if they determined them to lack B次元官网网址済ood moral character.B次元官网网址� This rule was in place until 1951.

The national inquiry recognized the violence the Indian Act perpetuates against Indigenous women and called on all governments to B次元官网网址渆liminate discriminatory provisions from the Indian Act.B次元官网网址�

Georgina Underwood said the Indian Act and other colonial structures B次元官网网址渞eally interfere with families and communities,B次元官网网址� and the Rematriate Stewardship project is an important step in helping Saltwater Salish women to push back against those forces, connect with their ancestral inheritance, and uphold their responsibilities to land.

B次元官网网址淥ne of our words in SEN膯O纽EN is 膯ELA峁圗N, which refers to ancestral inheritance in relation to our territories,B次元官网网址� she said.

B次元官网网址溎咵LA峁圗N is something that is given to each of the families, passed down by their ancestors, an ancestral heritage that connects them to the land, to the sea, and to their family. And I think thatB次元官网网址檚 what we are a big part of restoring.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淚n my heart, right now as IB次元官网网址檓 speaking, I see our ancestors in the clouds,B次元官网网址� Georgina added. B次元官网网址淭heyB次元官网网址檙e watching us, waiting for this movement to happen.B次元官网网址�

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