Avalon Sexual Assault Centre stands in solidarity with Mi’kmaw fishers. Avalon Sexual Assault Centre is located in Kjipuktuk, the unceded, unsurrendered lands of the Mi’kmaq Nation, and we recognize our responsibilty as Treaty people to speak out against the colonial violence experienced by Mi’kmaw fishers and community members.
Avalon Sexual Assault Centre affirms our support for the self-determined inherent right of Mi’kmaq to fish as guaranteed by the Peace and Friendship Treaty of 1752, affirmed by the Supreme Court’s 1999 Marshall Decision, and protected by Section 35 of the Canadian Constitution. We condemn the settler-colonial violence with which the exercise of Mi’kmaw self-determination is being met, and support the Sipekne’katik Mi’kmaw Nation’s call for the DFO Minister, the Premier of Nova Scotia, and the RCMP to protect Mi’kmaw rights and safety.
We continue to see the oppressive colonial principles of patriarchy embedded in the violence directed towards the waters, Mi’kmaq fishers, and community members. All oppression is connected, and all oppression can be defeated through accountability, healing and solidarity. We acknowledge the systemic racism and deeply-embedded patriarchal colonial systems that allow this violence and discrimination against the Mi’kmaw Nation to continue, and commit to our own work in dismantling them. We strive to honour the Treaties, and to continue our ongoing work and learning in the spirit of peace and friendship.
Msit no’kmaq.