Last Thursday evening, approximately 300 people participated in Montreal’s 7th Annual Sisters in Spirit March and Vigil for Missing and Murdered Native Women. This year’s Spirit March, held the same night as over 100 similar marches, focused on the theme of government accountability.

The Spirit March has been held annually since 2005, and is spearheaded by Bridget Tolley, an Algonquin woman who has worked with the Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC). Tolley started the movement to help seek justice for her mother Gladys, who was killed by in 2001 when she was struck by a police cruiser on her reserve in Quebec.

According to statistics gathered by Amnesty International Canada, Indigenous women are five times more likely to die because of violence than any other group of women in Canada. Furthermore, according to Sisters in Spirit—NWAC’s research initiative—at least 600 Indigenous women have been murdered or have gone missing since 1980.

Bianca Mugyenyi, Campaigns and Programming coordinator at Concordia’s 2110 Centre for Gender Advocacy and member of Missing Justice—one of the 2110 Centre’s campaigns—helped plan this year’s march, which Missing Justice has organized since 2009.

The march began at Place Émilie-Gamelin, where people gathered to listen to speakers and musical performances. The crowd then marched to Phillips Square for a candlelight vigil, and more speakers and performances.

While Mugyenyi believes that progress has been made in terms of international and media recognition of violence against Indigenous women, she said she does not think that enough has been done on the part of the Canadian government.

According to Mugyenyi, the federal government has failed to respond to requests for a public inquiry, submitted by the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women.

“There has also been a regression because Sisters in Spirit had their funding taken away [by the federal government],” Mugyenyi said.

Ellen Gabriel—a human rights advocate who has been active at the international level, participating most recently at the UN Expert Forum on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and former president of the Quebec Native Women’s Association—participated and spoke at the march. On her blog, sovereignvoices1.wordpress.com, Gabriel refers to herself as Onkwehón:we. She has attended this march every year since it began seven years ago.

“When [this march] first started, it wasn’t very big, but now with all the vigils happening across Canada—this being one of them—to see the numbers is very inspiring,” Gabriel said. “It’s nice to see the young people interested, and taking part in this kind of movement … I think it means a lot to families who have been affected.”

However, Gabriel mentioned she would also like to see the federal government take more direct action.

“I think the NWAC earlier this year stated that [relations with the government] haven’t improved,” Gabriel said. “It’s gotten worse … and it’s really a lack of political will. All that research the NWAC did, and there hasn’t been any policy made or implemented.”

Even though police escorted the marchers through the streets, the evening remained peaceful. According to Mugyenyi, police were not informed of the route of the march beforehand despite Law 12, which requires that all protest routes be made known to the Montreal Police.

“The city has definitely calmed down since the demonstrations last year, so it’s a different world,” Eli Freedman, U3 arts, said. “Last year, there were so many police officers. It was very intimidating …  [But now] I’m not worried about pepper spray or tear gas.”

Mugyenyi, like Gabriel, was pleased with the turnout and diversity of people present at the Spirit March.

“There [are] Indigenous and non-Indigenous marchers alike, which is very encouraging, particularly given the history around the silence,” Mugyenyi said.

Mugyenyi also noted that 150 similar marches were more prevalent in Canada and around the globe this year than ever before.

“Most of them are in Canada, but [now] there [are] even some marches in South America and in the U.S,” Mugyenyi said. “A movement is definitely building to make our society safer for Indigenous women.”

This past week, McGill hosted its first Mental Health Awareness Week (MHAW), which consisted of a series of panels and workshops with the purpose of increasing awareness for mental health issues on campus.

According to Access Services Advisor Gordon Dionne, the idea for MHAW originated when McGill’s Ombudsperson, Dr. Spencer Boudreau, proposed it to Senate, as many students were coming to see him about mental health issues. Eventually, the idea reached Student Services, where Dionne picked it up as a project on behalf of McGill Mental Health Services.

“It’s still spearheaded by Mental Health, but it’s really become a cross-divisional project,” Dionne said. “Most of Student Services [have been] involved at all levels throughout the whole week [and] everybody on campus has been invited to come to all the events.”

Mental Health Services conceived of MHAW as a result of Canadian universities’ growing realization of the importance of mental health issues on campus, and was tied into last week’s National Mental Illness Awareness Week.

MHAW’s panels included a lecture by Lina Di Genova, manager of student assessment at Student Services, and Vera Romano, clinical director of Counselling Service, entitled, “Spotlight on Mental Health and Psychosocial Well-Being at McGill.” Di Genova and Romano presented the findings of a McGill survey that was based on Pennsylvania State University’s mental health and counselling benchmark study.

Approximately 2,500 McGill students took part in this anonymous, web-based survey that encompassed eight categories of mental health issues: depression, generalized anxiety, social anxiety, academic distress, eating concerns, family distress, substance and alcohol abuse, and hostility.

The survey’s results were analyzed in relation to demographic intersectionalities. For example, of the 50 per cent of the student sample who reported dealing with depression on a recurring basis, there were higher proportions of women and students who were experiencing financial difficulties.

Di Genova and Romano’s lecture also hypothesized reasons for the increase of mental health issues on campus, including biological factors, family-related stressors, as well as “Generation Me”—a phenomenon which indicates that young adults feel a high need to be exceptional due to societal pressures, but struggle with doing so in a period of global economic crisis.

According to Romano, Student Services can improve their assistance to students dealing with mental health issues by focusing on resiliency and wellness, instead of using negative language to approach such issues.

“Mental health is not the absence of disease or distress, but the promotion of holistic wellness,” Romano said.

The panel ended with an overview of the various organizations that promote wellness at McGill, including Fitness McGill, Counselling Services, and the Health Promotion Team.

“We want to really help engage students and empower them to take ownership of their own wellness,” Di Genova said. “[They should] feel as though they’re a part of the [McGill] community.”

MHAW also offered free yoga sessions to students throughout the week. Yoga instructor Annie Shiel led a “Yoga for Stress” session this past Friday.

“It’s not an exercise class,” Shiel explained. “It’s really focused on what yoga does for your mind. We try to help people let go of everything else for 60 minutes, and give people tools that they can use off of the mat as well.”

Yoga for Stress is normally put on by Fit @ McGill and the Eating Disorder Program.

Overall, Dionne expressed satisfaction with how the inaugural MHAW has been received by the McGill community.

“I [saw] more and more people coming to the events [as the week progressed], and wearing the orange buttons that were made as a part of the campaign,” Dionne said. “It’s exciting to see that people are actively supporting the idea of having a ‘well campus.’ ”

On Oct. 5, McGill’s Social Equity and Diversity Education (SEDE) Office held their first annual Community Engagement Day (CED). The event featured approximately 20 different activities in which students had the opportunity to engage with Montreal community organizations, participate in volunteer activities around the city, and become involved in discussions on different social issues and challenges in Montreal.

“[The idea] was really to provide an opportunity to celebrate the different community engagement initiatives that exist on campus and in the city, in the effort to foster a culture of engagement at McGill,” CED Project Coordinator Max Halparin said.

One of the many events offered by CED was SPEAK UP! Bursting the bubble: Ways to breach the university-community divide, a discussion-based event that focused on the importance of ties between McGill and the surrounding city. Located on  Lower Field, the event consisted of a moderated discussion led by McGill graduate student David Gray-Donald and Associate Professor for the School of Social Work Jill Hanley.

Students and faculty of McGill, residents of Montreal, and members of neighbouring universities attended the discussion, which kicked off with the topic of barriers within the Montreal community.

“If we were to map out the group of friends and the people I was interacting with, it would be very much centered around this university,” Gray-Donald said. “And it’s not hard for that to happen.”

Other examples of divisions that came up in the discussion included the ones between students living in and out of residence, and those between individual faculties. Ross Koby, U1 arts also discussed the way students at McGill are separated from the greater Montreal community by language and location.

“Maybe they feel a little isolated from other universities,” Koby said. “I think a lot of people from McGill, unless they’re living in a student community like the Plateau … might not meet other people from other [universities].”

The conversation progressed from discussing barriers to brainstorming methods useful in overcoming them.

“Just showing respect for [another] language opens the door in an important way […] If you have that approach when you go outside, it changes everything,” said one participant. “I find people appreciate it.”

Other CED activities included CKUT radio workshops, the Moccasin Walk, and Afternoon Tea with the South Asian Women’s Community Centre.

Many students expressed their satisfaction with the event this year.

“I would love to do this next year,” Eryn Fitzgerald, a student at Concordia University, said.

“As the first annual event of its series, there is quite an amount of space for change, as well,” Halparin said. “For next year, [we’d achieve a] more collaborative selection process, with input from the community. I’d get more projects, as well […] my goal is to make it bigger and better.”

The status of the McGill Indigenous Studies Program has been clarifed following a miscommunication between the relevant parties.

In her last report to Council, SSMU Vice-President University Affairs Haley Dinel wrote that Dean of Arts Christopher Manfredi had approved a new Indigenous Studies Program. Although the project is in development, Manfredi has not approved the program, as he does not have the authority to do so (see “Re: ISP,” page 8).

According to Dinel, the confusion arose from a call she received from a member of the Social Equity and Diversity Education Office (SEDE), discussing the proposal for the program that is currently being compiled by McGill’s Institute of Canadian Studies.

“There was just some miscommunication between the two of us,” she said. “I didn’t ask any more questions because our conversation was very brief.”

According to Coordinator of McGill’s Aboriginal Sustainability Project Allan Vicaire, the program cannot be approved until William Straw, the director of McGill’s Institute of Canadian Studies, develops a proposal outlining the potential program.

While Vicaire hopes that a proposal will be ready late next semester, he said the program will probably begin as a minor in Indigenous Studies. This minor could then potentially be developed into a major within a few years.

According to Vicaire, his researcher has been looking into Indigenous Studies programs at other universities, to see how they work and what they use as a foundational course. Vicaire explained that the proposed program will likely be interdisciplinary.

“There are already a lot of courses given in lots of faculties—education, law, history, anthropology,” he said. “My researcher has emailed all these departments and [asked], if they would cross-reference courses into the program if we were to have a program. And we’ve received many responses as ‘yes.’”

Vicaire said those involved in the development of the program are looking to collaborate with the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU), which has also hired a researcher to look into the possibility of a program. Vicaire will be meeting with Straw later this week, to discuss further steps in developing the proposal.

“We want to figure out how we can get the community involved to hear their voices in terms of what they want in this program,” Vicaire said. “Their opinion and our data will transpire into an actual proposal. There needs to be more collaboration in terms of getting everyone’s opinion—not just the Indigenous students but all students campus wide, and also the neighbouring Indigenous communities.”