National Indigenous groups partner to pressure Canada to end MMIWG2S+ crisis
- ONWA
- May 5
- 3 min read
Collaborative data project seeks to enhance understanding of MMIWG2S+ crisis, strengthen advocacy and highlight lack of action from Canada since the National Inquiry
May 5, 2025 (Unceded Anishinabe Territory | Ottawa) — Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada, Les Femmes Michif Otipemisiwak (LFMO), the Ontario Native Women’s Association (ONWA) and 2 Spirits in Motion Society (2SiMS) announced a collaborative, Indigenous-led data project focused on Missing and Murdered First Nations, Métis and Inuit Women, Girls, Two Spirit and Gender-diverse Peoples today.
“Despite the clear path laid out by the National Inquiry, First Nations, Métis and Inuit Women, Girls, Two Spirit and Gender-diverse Peoples are still dehumanized, devalued and targeted,” says Pauktuutit President and CEO Nikki Komaksiutiksak. “This project will strengthen ongoing advocacy eff orts and pressure the Government of Canada to implement all 231 Calls for Justice identifi ed by the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.”
This project is intended to bring in additional Indigenous-led organizations that can assist in data collection on Missing and Murdered First Nations, Métis and Inuit Women, Girls, Two Spirit and Gender-diverse Peoples, which will be used to raise awareness and lead to the creation of a national database — strengthening advocacy, driving social progress and changing policy.
“Police forces, child welfare systems and social services lack an understanding of their role in systemic violence, resulting in unreliable and inaccurate MMIWG2S+ data,” says LFMO Director of MMIWG2S Initiatives Kristen Gilchrist-Salles. “We must put an end to the violent systems shaping this crisis — the data we collect will help us accomplish this.”
“The data will help support advocacy eff orts on the ground and at the highest levels of government,” says 2SiMS National Research Coordinator Imriel Bissnette. “Today, on Red Dress Day, we ask everyone across the country to come together, hold governments accountable and put an end to the genocide of First Nations, Métis and Inuit Women, Girls, Two Spirit and Gender-diverse Peoples.”
"This partnership and project is about a shared commitment to truth, accountability and walking alongside each other with respect and responsibility,” says ONWA CEO Cora McGuire-Cyrette. “It's about coming together with care and purpose to honour the lives and experiences of First Nations, Métis and Inuit Women, Girls, Two Spirit and Gender-diverse Peoples. By using data to shine a light on systemic gaps and injustices, this work aims to support long-overdue accountability and strengthen safety, justice and healing in our communities."
The organizations are working alongside CDCI and Wampum Records — who helped build the online data repository for the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation together.
For more information, visit: https://pauktuutit.ca/mmiwig2s/database
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Media Contact:
Jill McKenzie Director of Strategy and Media Relations pipikwan pêhtâkwan jill@pipikwanpehtakwan.com
Pauktuutit is the national non-profit organization representing all Inuit women in Canada. Its mandate is to foster a greater awareness of the needs of Inuit women, and to encourage their participation in community, regional and national concerns in relation to social, cultural and economic development.
Les Femmes Michif Otipemisiwak (LMFO) is the recognized National voice of Métis women from across the Métis Motherland informed by the expressed priorities of grassroots Métis women.
The Ontario Native Women’s Association (ONWA) is a not for profit organization to empower and support all Indigenous women and their families in the province of Ontario through research, advocacy, policy development and programs that focus on local, regional and provincial activities.
About 2 Spirits in Motion Society:
The 2 Spirits in Motion Society (2SiMS) is a registered national non-profit society that seeks to create, maintain, and strengthen a safe and supportive environment for 2 Spirit people to express themselves through cultural ways of knowing and being around gender and sexuality; and to succeed and be empowered in all areas that are grounded in the medicines that 2 Spirit people carry.
