T-shirt message pushes for inquiry
- Linda Mikolayenko | March 15, 2015
Can a T-shirt influence political action? April Chiefcalf hopes so.
Chiefcalf, who works in La Ronge, took exception to statements made in December by Aboriginal Affairs Minister Bernard Valcourt when he rejected calls for a national inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women.
“He said that he already knew what an inquiry would conclude and he shifted blame and responsibility to the Aboriginal community,” says Chiefcalf. “By shifting attention from missing and murdered Aboriginal women to property rights on reserves, he ignored the fact that numerous Aboriginal women have been victimized off-reserve by white, male perpetrators, and ignored the studies that identify links to colonialism, racism and sexism.”
Chiefcalf is a program coordinator and instructor in the Northern Teacher Education Program and Northern Professional Access Program (NORTEP/NORPAC), as well as a PhD student at the University of Regina. She decided that she wanted to be part of a movement that changes the conversation on this issue. One way she could do that was to custom order T-shirts with the messages she wanted to convey. On the front of the red T-shirt, in bold white letters is written WE DEMAND A NATIONAL INQUIRY ON MMIW!, and on the back, JUSTICE FOR MISSING & MURDERED INDIGENOUS WOMEN.
She began with a modest order of 30 and began selling them primarily by word of mouth.
“I am joining other people who are changing the discourse, and I want other people to join me,” she says.
Chiefcalf has since invited local artist Harmony Johnson-Harder to create a visual image to convey the same message.
Johnson-Harder looked at traditional representations of Lady Justice with origins in Greek and Roman mythology, and wanted to play on that, but in an Aboriginal context. Often Lady Justice is depicted with a blindfold to represent objectivity and impartiality. However, there is no blindfold on the woman in Johnson-Harder’s artwork, which she calls Justice for Her.
“These women do not have a voice, so I gagged her,” she says.
Both the traditional Lady Justice and Johnson-Harder’s depiction hold scales, but instead of the double-edge sword symbolizing power, in Justice for Her, the woman’s right hand holds up an eagle feather.
“When you hold a feather, you can only speak the truth, and have good intentions,” says Johnson-Harder.
Some ancient images of Justice include a laurel wreath, often seen as a symbol of victory. Johnson-Harder drew a braid of sweetgrass, as a gesture of “putting your prayers out there.”
Through her creativity, she hopes to give Aboriginal women “that voice, that confidence, the respect that they deserve.”
Both Johnson-Harder and Chiefcalf believe a national inquiry is needed. Others are joining them in voicing the demand. The student hosts for the NORTEP/NORPAC graduation in May have chosen to wear T-shirts that will bear the Justice for Her design. Chiefcalf would like to see key political leaders wear them in Parliament in response to Prime Minister Harper’s assertion that an inquiry is “not high on our radar.”
“Our leaders are to represent us,” says Chiefcalf, “not ignore or dictate.”
Related stories:
- Saskatoon roundtable seeks solution to problem of violence against Indigenous women
- SUMA joins call for national inquiry into missing, murdered Aboriginal women
- Plans underway for missing women's monument
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