The Kailash Mital Theatre hosted a documentary screening of Finding Dawn, a documentary which discusses issues within the Indigenous community, on Nov. 22.
Released in 2006, Finding Dawn is a film that sheds light into the ongoing injustices Indigenous women face, such as sexual abuse, a loss of culture, and colonial violence.
Before the film, Algonquin Elder Annie Smith St-Georges offered tobacco and delivered an emotional plea to end the silence surrounding the issue of Indigenous women and girls being murdered or going missing.
The start of the film highlighted one of the most important statistics: over the past 20 years, there have been more than 500 missing, abused, and murdered Indigenous women, with numbers continuing to grow at an alarming rate.
As the title suggests, viewers are taken on a journey to find Dawn Crey, who went missing in Dec. 2000. The audience was introduced to her family, who were still in need of answers after traces of her DNA were found on the farm of convicted serial killer, Robert Pickton.
The film focuses on other families who lost daughters, mothers, aunts, and wives in tragic ways. They share ways to cope with the loss of their loved one and how keep their memory alive. The film also highlights an initiative organized by Marlene Trick, who brings the Indigenous community together every February to march the streets of Vancouver to raise awareness about this issue. Trick reminds us that the lost women are not forgotten women, and emphasizes the need to come together as a community.
Finding Dawn also gives the perspectives of Indigenous activist, Fay Blaney, who puts into perspective the seriousness of the issue and the growing need for change.
“This is more than just a police problem,” Blaney said in the film.
The film introduces viewers to the activism of Janice Acoose, who teaches at First Nations University in Saskatchewan. She shares the dark realities of life for many Indigenous women and girls, who she says could go missing, at any time,” because of the racism and stigma they face, especially in the city.”
Following the film, a panel discussion featuring Smith, Meredith Porter, and Patricia McGuire, a Carleton professor in the school of social work , was held. They touched on themes regarding discrimination, demographics, unfair treatment, culture, and services.
Photo by Meral Mohammad Jamal
