May 1, 2022 Carnegie Newsletter

MAY 1,2022

carnegienewsletter.org

c:arrmsiws@,(cn.bc.ca 401 Main Street Vancouver

Canada

V6A 2T7

(604) 665~2289

The 1st Annual DTES Writers Festival takes ptacewith gratitude on the unceded territory of the Slswxwd7mesh (Squamlsb), xWmaek"ayam(M~squeam), and s;')IHwetaf{Ts!eil-Waututhi Nations.

The Downtown Eastside has a history ofwritlng fhatsupports activism and pres~nts. the voice of many otherwise disenfranchised dtiz~ns,yoices tromthe streets, cre;ltMty from Indigenous people and people of colour, from SRO's, fr6rnpeop!~Jivlrg .Withsubstance use<\nd ruentalhealth conditions, and fromp~6pl~J~coverlng frorq the crap life nasJhrownat them.

Our creativity and writing heals us, brings. ps to thatdyef? inter~onnectedness with,.consciousness within and without that unites usjncommunity.

We have more writers per squarefootthanany other ~()I]munityin Canada.

Welcome. Come, Hsten, participate, learn, share, anclg~R~wlt~g~ .. Whatever journey you're o~, may you find sustenance at th{} PTES,Writers Festival.

PAUL TAVLOR

PHOENIX WINTER

GlLLES CVRENNE

Editor, Carnegie Newsletter

Facilltator; FireWrlters

Coordinator, DTES Writers Collective

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The DTES Writers Festival presents engaging, exciting, low barrier opportunities for authors, artists, and literary fans to create and share their work.

DTES Writers Festival is excited to present the 1st annual edition taking place May 5 to May 8, 2022. There are also additional pre-festival events at a variety of venues in the Downtown Eastside. The festival will feature writers and artists of many disciplines who will host workshops and sessions for writers of every level of experience, from emerging to professional.

"The Downtown Eastside has a history of writing that supports activism and presents the voice of many otherwise disenfranchised citizens, voices from the streets, creativity from Indigenous people and people of colour, from SRO's, from people living with substance use and mental health conditions, and from people recovering from the crap life has thrown at them.

Our creativity and writing heals us, brings us to that deep interconnectedness with consciousness within and without that unites us in community.

We have more writers per square foot than any other community in Canada. Welcome. Come, listen, participate, learn, share, and grow with us. Whatever journey you're on, may you find sustenance at the DTES Writers Festival."

Gilles Cyrenne - DTES Writers Collective, Phoenix Winter - FireWriters and Paul Taylor - Editor, Carnegie Newsletter.

The DTES Writers Festival is thrilled to offer workshops, presentations, and conversations featuring Comics Poetry, Creative Writing, Storytelling, Songwriting, Slogan Writing, Weaving, Journalism, Poetry Slam, and Indigenous Storytelling & Scriptwriting.

All Festival events are free and open to DTES community members.

DTES WRITERS FESTIVAL EVENT LIST Storytelling Workshop Series Facilitator: Jim Sands Time: Fridays Aprill, 22, 29 1:00pm-3:00pm Location: The Learning Centre, 401 Main Street - 3rd Floor, Vancouver BC V6A2T7 Registration: Drop In Workshop Join host Jim Sands for presentations of new personal stories about things that have happened in people's lives, legends and/or tradifional stories that have special meaning. Participants worked on their stories at a workshops series on personal storytelling in April 2022 at Carnegie Community Centre. jimsandspresents.ca - Instagram: @jcsandsOOl [facebook.com] - Twitter: @jimsandspresent

- Facebook: www.facebook.comlCharlieAHockeyStory

Voicing Resistance Facilitator: Heidi Greco Time: Tuesday April 26 1:00pm-2:30pm Location: The Learning Centre, 40 1 Main Street - 3rd Floor, Vancouver BC V6A2T7 Registration: Drop In Workshop Description Join author, editor, and activist Heidi Greco for an afternoon workshop that will help you put your con-

cems into powerful words. Using examples, and through discussion and prompts, we'll seek out ways for you to productively voice your resistance. Bring a pen, along with your passion, and get ready to rock the world. website: https:llheidigreco.ca!

Twitter: @heidigrec047

Staying in the Poetry Facilitator: Danielle LaFrance Time: Monday May 2 & Tuesday May 3 6:30pm-8:30pm Location: WISH Drop In Centre, 334 Alexander Street, Vancouver, BC V6A 1C3 Registration: WISH Participants Only Two back-to-back evenings where WISH drop-in centre participants will get to learn about LaFrance's approach to poetry, come up with troubles to stay with and write about, use collage and cut up techniques to produce a poem, intervene with each other's poem, and read the results from the gut. website:daniellelafrance.com

IG: @sailorbitchpudding

TW: @danarquista TW: @danarquista

Meet & Greet Festival Kick Off! Hosts: Paul, Phoenix, and Gilles Time: Thursday, May 5, 1:00pm-2:30pm Location: Camegie Community Centre, In the Theatre, 401 Main Street - Main Floor, Vancouver BC V6A2T7 Registration: Drop In Event Everyone is welcome to join us for the DTES Writer Festival Kick Off! Connect with other writers, meet some of the Festival Artists, and enjoy welcome remarks and light refreshments.

A Writing Vacation Facilitator: Elee Kraljii Gardiner Time: Thursday, May 5 3:00pm-4:30pm Location: Carnegie Community Centre, In the Theatre, 401 Main Street - Main Floor, Vancouver BC V6A2T7 Registration: Drop In Workshop Description This 90 minute session of creative writing is for everyone. Elee Kraljii Gardiner will share prompts that encourage experimentation ~ith words in a non-judgmental, playful, and supportive workshop in the style of Thursdays Writing Collective sessions. We will use our pens to exit day-to-day life and create sentences and ideas that may become poems, or stories, or testimonies. Writers will have the opportunity to share their work, if they like, without any pressure to do so. @eleekg Twitter @EleeKG eleekg.com, VancouverManuscriptlntensive.com

Poetry Cabaret Facilitator: Diane Wood Time: Thursday, May 5 7:00pm-9:00pm Location: Carnegie Community Centre, In the Theatre, 401 Main Street - Main Floor, Vancouver BC V6A2T7 Registration Open Mic - Sign up at event

Description Join Diane Wood for a special edition of Downtown Eastside Poetry Night and Open Mic. Everyone is welcome to attend and share their writing, singing, stories and more. Sign up with Diane at the event to participate.

Blue Pencil Consultations: 15 min each Facilitator: Fiona Tinwei Lam Time Friday, May 6 10:00am-1:00pm Location: The Learning Centre, 401 Main Street - 3rd Floor, Vancouver BC V6A2T7 Registration Advance Registration: beverly.walker@vancouver.ca 604-665-2213 Have a short poem you're having difficulty with? Book a 15 minute meeting with Fiona to discuss your draft poem (under 200 words, typed if possible) to get some feedback, ideas and approaches that might help. @PoetFionaTLam

Publishing 101 Facilitator: Penny Goldsmith Time Friday, May 6 1:00pm-3:00pm Location: The Learning Centre, 40 1 Main ~treet - 3rd Floor, Vancouver BC V6A2T7 Registration Drop In Workshop

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Join Penny Goldsmith along with other writers and publishers to talk about getting your writing out into the world.

There will be lots of time for discussion, sharing authors' and publishers' stories and asking and answering questions at an informal interactive round table.

What's Your Story? Personal Storytelling Workshop (Open Rehearsal) Facilitator: Jim Sands Time: Friday, M~ 6 2:00pm-4:00pm Location: Carnegie Community Centre, In the Theatre, 401 Main Street - Main Floor, Vancouver BC V6A2T7 Registration Drop In Event - Participation by Invitation Join us for an open rehearsal featuring storytellers who have been part of our Storytelling Workshop Series.

Website: jimsandspresents.ca - Instagram: @jcsandsOOl - Facebook: www.facebook.coml CharJieAHockeyStory [facebook.com] - Twitter: @jirnsandspresent

Megaphone Magazine Creative Writing Workshop Facilitators: Celine Chuang and Alyssa Martens Time: Friday, May 6 3:00pm-4:30pm

Location 312 Main, 312 Main Street, Vancouver, BC V6A 2T2 Advance Registration: beverl y.walker@vancouver.ca 604-665-2213 Join local writers & facilitators Alyssa Martens and Celine Chuang at 312 Main Street (entrance on Cordova) for an immersive, interactive writing workshop that explores sensory writing prompts, spring renewal and new beginnings, and resourcing from joy. We'll draw from our own memories and experiences to write creatively, as well as eo-create a group poem in a nurturing environment. No writing experience necessary! Refreshments and writing supplies provided. 10 spots available: sign-up through the DTES Writer's Festival. https:llcelinechuang.com

alyssahw.com

Intro to Songwriting Facilitator: Dana Oikawa Time: Friday, May 6 3:30pm-5:00pm Location: The Learning Centre, 401 Main Street - 3rd Floor, Vancouver BC V6A2T7 Registration: Drop In Workshop There is no one way to write a song, but in this workshop we'll take a look at song structure, rhyming schemes, vivid descriptors, and styles of songwriting. Come out, nurture your creativity and get ready to walk away with your new hit single! https:llsoundcloud.com/danaoikawa

, https:llwww.reverbnation.comldanaoikawa

Stories that Could Be True: A Storytelling Cabaret Facilitator: Jim Sands Time: Friday, May 6 6:00pm-7:00pm Location: Carnegie Community Centre, In the Theatre, 401 Main Street - Main Floor, Vancouver BC V6A2T7 Registration: Drop In Event Join host Jim Sands for presentations of new personal stories about things that have happened in people's lives, legends and/or traditional stories that have special meaning. Participants worked on their stories at a workshops series on personal storytelling in April 2022 at Carnegie Community Centre.

Website: jimsandspresents.ca - Instagram: @jcsands001 - Facebook: www.facebook.coml CharlieAHockeyStory [facebook.com] - Twitter: @jimsandspresent

DTES Writers Festival: Poetry Slam Facilitator: RC Weslowski Time Friday, May 6 7:30pm-9:00pm Location: Carnegie Community Centre, In the Theatre, 401 Main Street - Main Floor, Vancouver BC V6A2T7 Registration: Drop In Event

Description Join us for a DTES poetry slam, a competitive event in which poets perform their work and are judged by members of the audience. Hosted by RC Weslowski.

Tricksters, Transformers and Sbapeshifters in Indigenous Storytelling & Scriptwriting Facilitator: David Geary Time: Saturday, May 7 1O:00am-12:00pm Location: Carnegie Community Centre, In the Theatre, 401 Main Street - Main Floor, Vancouver BC V6A2T7 Registration: Drop In & Online Workshop Register for online participation by emailingbeverly.walker@vancouver.ca This program looks at how traditional characters and stories can be adapted to shape the narratives for our futures. It will be a chance to write and draw, to share and explore together https:/ Iwww.instagram.comlshakeyisles/.https:lltwitter.comlgearsgeary

Weaving The Path - Documentary Film (a VPL Partnership Presentation) Facilitator: IsabeI Stewart Time: Saturday, May 7 3:00pm-4:00pm Location: Camegie Community Centre, In the Theatre, 401 Main Street - Main Floor, Vancouver BC V6A2T7 Registration: Drop In Event Join in the screening of the short film "Weaving the Path", which highlights weaver, artist, and knowledge keeper 6glixWglwgt (Thelliawhatlwit), or Debra Sparrow. The film explores the history of weaving in Coast Salish cultures and how it is being carried into the present day by artists like Sparrow.

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Activism Afternoon Host: Diane Wood Time: Saturday, May 7 1:00pm-5:00pm Location: Oppenheimer Park, 400 Powell St, Vancouver, BC V6A IG6 Registration: Dr p In Event Join us for Activism Afternoon at Oppenheimer Park. No writing experience necessary! Refreshments and writing supplies provided. Includes Slogan Writing with Mildred Grace German and Open Mic readings hosted by Diane Wood. Everyone welcome.

Slogan Writing Facilitator: Mildred Grace German Time Saturday, May 7 1:00pm-2:30pm Location: Oppenheimer Park, 400 Powell St, Vancouver, BC V6A IG6 Registration: Drop In Workshop

Join us for an afternoon of Slogan Writing. No previous experience necessary. All materials provided. https:llmildredgracegerman.wixsite.comlwebsite, mildredgerman _essentials -portfolio.html

https:llwww.flipsnack.comlmildredgracegermanl

Poetry and Prose as Protest: Reading Host: Diane Wood Time Saturday, May 7 3:00pm-4:30pm Location: Oppenheimer Park, 400 Powell St, Vancouver, BC V6A IG6 Registration Open Mic - Sign up at event Join us for Activism Afternoon at Oppenheimer Park. No previous experience necessary! Open Mic readings hosted by Diane Wood. Everyone welcome!

Zine Workshop (Three Parts) Facilitator: Hari Alluri Time: Sunday, May 8 10:00am-ll:30pmlll:45am-l:15pml2:30pm-4:00

pm

Location: The Learning Centre, 401 Main Street - 3rd Floor, Vancouver BC V6A2T7 Registration: Drop In Workshop Join us for this opportunity to make up to 10 copies of your o~

4 to 12 page

book, and contribute to a community zine. There will be a short writing workshop for inspiration lOam-ll:30am

(From Self to Pen) and a type-up event

11:45am-l:15pm (From Pen to Page), leading into the zine making session 2:304pm (From Page to Book). Join us for any or all three. https:lllinktr.ee/haria\luri https:llwww.instagram.comlhariallurilhttps:lltwitter.com/HariAlluri

http://harialluri.coml

Comics Poetry Facilitator: Hue Nguy Time: Sunday, May 8 1:00pm-3:00pm ,

Location: Carnegie Community Centre, In Classroom 11- 3rd Floor, 401 Main Street - Main Floor, Vancouver BC V6A2T7 Registration: Drop In & Online Workshop Register for online participation by emailingbeverly.walker@vancouver.ca This workshop will introduce participants to the subgenre of comics called 'comics poetry.' I will be showing examples of other peoples work as well as my own. It is highly emphasized that there is no wrong or right way to make comics poetry, the main point of the medium to express a feeling, whether that be positive or negative. It's a way of validating your experiences and emotions. @milkmess, website: hueisahorse.com

Wrap Up Celebration!

Time Sunday, May 8 5:00pm-7:00pm Location: Propaganda Cafe 209 E Pender St, Vancouver, BC V6A lT8 Registration: Drop In Event Join us for a social get together to celebrate the 1st Annual DTES Writers Festival. Light refreshments provided. https://www.propagandacoffee.ca/

MORE INFORMATION Pick up the program guide at any of the DTES Writers Festival locations. The DTES Writers Festival was created by a Volunteer Advisory Committee of representatives from the DTES Writers Collective, FireWriters, and the Carnegie Newsletter. Committee work was supported by Carnegie Community Centre and The Learning Centre. Get in touch with the DTES Writers Festival Volunteer Advisory Committee via Beverly.Walker@vancouver.ca 604-6652213.

About Carnegie Newsletter The Newsletter is one of the most read and respected publications in the Downtown Eastside.It has come out, with rare exceptions, on the 1st & 15th of each month since August 1986. Its purpose is to provide a voice for the dynamic oflife and struggle and to let all manner of physical, mental and spiritual creativity have expression. It's also a good read! Issues covered include poverty, housing, "free" trade fair trade & the sex trade, safety, drugs (both use & abuse) & alcohol, food, learning, women & the elevation of their dignity, kids' needs and joys, sports, politics and fear, cuts and hope and more. There are also announcements of events, efforts to assist in organising and promotion of justice. Be warned: it is not just doom and gloom.

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About FireWriters "Writing is about finding our voices. It is about speaking in the silence. I've learned to do that at Carnegie and in the DTES." - Phoenix Winter Phoenix Winter came to the Learning Centre when just out of homelessness. Today, she facilitates FireWriters, a supportive weekkYwriting group on Tuesdays on the 3rd Floor ofCarnegie in the Learning Centre. They publish a collection of short stories when they can. Phoenix has been facilitating FireWriters for over 10 years.

About DTES Writers Collective Live from the DTES, our words have been laid down by writers who DEMAND to be heard. Raw. Authentic. Uncompromising.

The DTES Writers Collective evolved from the Thursdays Writing Collective, which ran from 2008-2018. TWC published eleven chapbook anthologies with the support of Canada Council, City of Vancouver, Simon Fraser University and Carnegie Community Centre.

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The City of Vancouver has proclaimed May 7th Militant Mothers ofRaymur Day! The Vancouver Heritage Foundation will be presenting historical plaques for their Places That Matter program. There will be live music, art, cake and of course lots of storytelling with the original Militant Mothers of Raymur pn hand to tell it like it was.

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Carnegie Volunteer Program Update Volunteer appreciation was a blast and we got to see many of you at the event on April 20th, thanks again for all the work you do! We appreciate all ofCarnegie volunteers, this centre would not be the same without you!

New/ Returning volunteer info Here is what you need to know: We are inviting both people that have volunteered at Carnegie in the past and new volunteers for training sessions, the updated "Volunteering at Carnegie" training includes new mandatory health and safety protocols, is required for all new and returning volunteers Food Preparation, Runner, and Server roles are being offered at this time Tutor, Computer tutor, and Receptionist positions for the Learning Centre are limited to Mon- Thurs Only scheduled shifts are being offered at this time, drop-in volunteering opportunities will be added as Centre capacity allows Sign up for an upcoming Volunteering orientation and training session if you: A returning Volunteer (No application needed) New volunteer: make sure you have completed a volunteer application Are able to commit to 1 regular scheduled shift (3 hours) per week, the shifts available will be mornings 9am-12pm, afternoons 1-4pm, Evenings 5:30-8:30pm (Learning Centre hours are different, please connect with them directly for available shifts Are able to commit to the full 4 hours of vVolunteering at Carnegie" health and safety orientation and site tour (2 hours) and role training (2 hours) Please connect with Huyanne or Harris Carnegievolunteerprogram(al,vancouver.ca or 604-606-2708 to sign up for one of the orientation below!

Up coming Orientation dates: SATLTRDAYMay 7- Returning and New Volunteers- 10am-2pm (Last 2 hours with Kitchen if applicable) TCESDA Y May 10- Returning and New Volunteers- 10am-2pm (Last 2 hours with Kitchen if applicable) TLJESDAYMay 24- Returning and New Volunteers- 10am-2pm (Last 2 hours with Kitchen if applicable) Carnegie Recreation Program Drop- In Basketball: Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays 2-4pm Saturdays and Sundays 10am-12pm Seniors Line Dancing: Mondays and Fridays 9am-12pm Gymnasium Seniors Chair Exercise: Tuesdays and Thursdays llam-12pm Flex Rec: Table tennis, pickle ball, indoor putting Wednesdays 12:30-4:30pm Karen Jamieson Dance: Saturdays 3-5pm

Pool Room Meeting May 4th, 3-4:30pm Lane level, pool room (Light refreshment provided) Volunteers and Patrons welcome to come and discuss plans on the Pool room reopening!

Kayaking in False Creek (near Science world) Thursday May ]2, 1Oam-I pm; Thursday May 24. 1Oam-I pm Sign up at Info Desk!

From the Lower Mainland to northern B.C., people will gather on Thursday, May 5 to remember the lives of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls and to call on the federal government to take action to bring them justice.

In Canada and the U.S., May 5 marks the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG). It coincides with Red Dress Day which was inspired by an art project by Jamie Black, a Metis woman, who used empty red dresses to evoke the missing women and girls.

First Nations women continue to experience staggering rates of violence, as well as on-going oppression and sex-discrimination as thousands of those newly entitled to status under Bill S-3 remain unable to claim the status and rights that were denied to them under the Indian Act In 2017, Bill S-3 brought in changes to the Indian Act that were meant to address sex-based inequities that disadvantage Indigenous women seeking registered status.

The red dress is a symbol to remember and act for all missing and murdered women

Racism: My Experience Born white and male, as I am, as a member ofthe dominant society, I am privileged in ways that are less available to persons from other ethnicities and cultures. Though I've had my misadventures with addiction to alcohol, I was always able to find work and when I was ready to sober up all the support in the world was readily available. Jobs just came my way, sometimes, when I didn't really even want to work.

That privilege has kept me unaware for most of my life that I unconsciously carry racist attitudes, based in the cult of individualism and the institutionalized racism that pervades our oppressive society. We live in a world where there are sharp class distinctions and the people most often relegated to low-paying jobs, unemployment, and poverty are most often people of colour. As a white man, I have mostly been unable to see or experience barriers erected against those not born so lucky. I have never been guaranteed ajob after a phone interview, then turned away, when I showed up because I was Indigenous or Brown or Black, as a recently happened to an acquaintance of mine.

I have learned in my travels that those of us who are white, who are born into this privilege, basically all carry unconscious racist attitudes. It's not our fault, but it is our responsibility to do something about it, and our responsibility to interrupt it whenever we see it. We need to learn more about racism, acknowledge our biases and work to transform them.

In her book, White Fragility: Why It's So Hard For White People ToTalk About Racism, Robin Diange10 outlines how "whiteness" is an invention, a category created to justify white 'superiority', an ideology and attitude used to dehumanize other humans so they could be enslaved and subjected to colonialism's conquests. Subjugated people were used to enrich the conquerors both as slaves worldwide, and in Canada as suppliers of animal pelts for far below their real value. The profits from the fur trade further enriched wealthy whites as Indigenous people had their land stolen, their children kidnapped, their cultures outlawed, their language suppressed, their people starved to death, infected with smallpox, enslaved by alcohol and on and on it goes. We did this as we proselytized Christianity, theoretically a religion of love.

We All Go Back to the Land: The Who, Why, and How of Land Acknowledgements, by Suzanne Keeptwo, informs us that, "For all the Christian Biblical tenets that preach against passing judgement on others, the missionaries, trappers and governors misjudged the Indigenous people of this Land as primitive and simple, who knew not what to do with the riches of the Land, the Earth Mother and her natural resources. In fact, the Original peoples across Earth Mother were-and are-so much more inherently advanced because of a deep understanding of humankind's wellbeing as dependent upon the relationship with the Land and water, flora, and fauna." (Keeptwo, p. 5) The hundreds of unmarked graves being found near former residential schools are the racist legacy of working to "remove the Indian from the child," an attempt to destroy "the superior Indigenous worldview that will, if supported, save the planet from extinction." (Keeptwo, p. 73)As white people we need to listen much more closely to our Indigenous friends. Our children's and grandchildren's lives depend on our ability to learn to embrace a world view in which we identify with the Land and water, flora and fauna; we must deeply connect with our interdependence with nature. We need to listen.

A recent study by a team of researchers led by Sarah Tishkoff at the University of Pennsylvania, confirms that "societal constructions of race are not useful when it comes to genetics .... The study really discredits the idea of a biological construct of race. There are no discrete boundaries between groups that

are consistent with biological markers." (l) This reenforces my earlier statement that race is a social construct, an invention used to justify capitalist colonialism's inhumane brutality.

In my travels, I have also learned that in order to become more fully human I need to evolve beyond all the 'isms': racism, anti-Semitism, sexism, class ism, ageism, homo and trans-phobia, able-ism, and so on.

I need to see everyone as fully human and not let anyone or anything get in my way as I work to embrace all humanity with compassion. I have been exceptionally fortunate in my life in having relationships with and meeting friends who have provided me with essential lessons in this journey. I continue to be blessed in that I live in a community that provides me with daily encounters with persons of different ethnicities, sexualities, classes and ages in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.

So I keep working to interrupt racism and toward becoming less white. Robin Diangelo concludes her book by writing that this is, " ... a messy, lifelong process, but one that is necessary to align my professed values with my real actions. It is also deeply compelling and transformative."

By GILLES CYRENNE

(1) Jason Daley, smithsonianmag.com,

October 17,2017

From "the Library If you happened to get acquainted with April's Poetry Month display, you may be happy to know that it will be morphing into a selection of local writers' works and writing inspiration! This is in celebration of the first edition of the DTES Writer's Festival happening early this month. We also have the seed library up and running. If you are looking to grow J some veggies or flowers, come pay us a visit. . On the shelf we have many exciting titles including Finding the Mother Tree by Suzanne Simard.

Simard, one of the world's leading forest ecologists, shares her knowledge about how trees communicate, sustain each other, and use intricate underground networks. Simard shows through personal stories and her experience as a scientist how trees are so much more than just a resource.

Another thrilling read on our shelves comes from author Hakan Nesser. Nesser's new novel, The Secret Life of Mr. Roos introduces Valdemar Roos, a fifty-nine year old who is tired oflife and finds an unlikely escape in the form of a secluded hut after winning the lottery. Everything is going swimmingly with his personal and secret oasis, until a young woman with a troubled past appears. Mr. Roos soon becomes both a missing person and a prime suspect in a homicide, and Inspector Barbarotti is on the case.

To check these and other titles, visit www.vpl.ca or come and chat with us here in the library. All best wishes, Izzy

Through the darkest nights I listen Volumes of thunderous raindrops precipitating Audibly pleasing to my eardrums I see limbs and branches on trees breathe and excrete leaves pink blossoms purple crocus as well as tulips and yellow daffodils My olfactory acute senses pleased by fragrant fauna! Absorbing it all ...

Drewjo-lnow

Femicide is the Shadow Pandemic - from Battered Women Support Services

Despite our efforts to bring a visible and a focus to femicide in British Columbia and Canada, our political leaders have ignored femicide as an everyday reality for women, girls, femmes, trans and non-binary people. As shown by the most recent Canadian Femicide Observatory for Justice and Accountability statistics, in 2020, an average of one woman or girl was killed every 2.5 days in Canda, and, in 2022, there has been an average of 1 femicide every 1.5 days in Canada.

Femicide is the killing of women, girls, trans and non-binary people explicitly motivated by and because of their gender.

Femicide is the most extreme form of violence on a continuum of gender-based violence and discrimination. Globally, according to data by the United Nations, 81,000 women and girls were killed in 2020 by an intimate partner or a family member, which equals a staggering 128 women killed per day around the world. We believe that even one femicide is too many!

In Canada, the independent Canadian Femicide Observatory for Justice and Accountability collects and analyses data on femicides in Canada and classifies femicide under two broad terms.

The first term is intimate femicide, also referred to as intimate partner femicide, which captures the killing of women, girls, femmes, trans and non-binary people by current or former partners.

The second term is non-intimate femicide, which involves the killing of women, girls, femmes, trans and non-binary people by someone with whom they did not share an intimate partner relationship, such as familial femicide, 'know perpetrator' femicide, and stranger femicide.

Cis men are the primary perpetrators offemicide and most femicides are committed by current or former male partners within relationships where there was a history of intimate partner violence.

The most recent information in Canada demonstrates that in 2020,90 percent of perpetrators were male, and 41 percent of femicides where relationship status was known involved a current or former intimate partner. The study also found at least one in five women whose killers were identified were Indigenous women and girls.

While the act of femicide often happens in private, it is all around us and is enabled by intersecting inequities. Indigenous, Black, immigrant and refugee, racialized, and low-income women, young girls, and gender diverse people face compounding violence.

• Femicide is perpetuated and maintained through broader patriarchal systems of oppression and ongoing forms of inequality.

At Battered Women's Support Services, we work from a decolonial, intersectional, feminist perspective to eliminate gender-based violence and promote gender equity.

Since our very founding, we have recognized that gender-based violence, including femicide, does not only take place between two individuals in isolation but, rather, in a social context and a world view that systemically reinforces the power of some people to oppress others.

In Canada, for example, we know that Indigenous women are twelve times more likely to be murdered or missing than any oth woman in Canada, and sixteen times more likely to be murdered or missing than white women in Canada.

According to Statistics Canada, between 2001 and 2015, homicide rates for Indigenous women were almost six times higher than for non-Indigenous women, and Indigenous women accounted for a staggering 24 percent of all female homicide victims in 2015. While Indigenous survivors are victim-blamed for these horrifying forms and rates of violence they suffer, colonial patriarchy is the highest risk factor in Indigenous women's lives.

We echo Cindy Holmes and Sara Hunt, who explain, "In our anti-violence and community-building work over the years, we have noticed that as the issue of violence against Indigenous people has been taken up in public discourse, violence within Indigenous families as been increasingly targeted as being to blame. Rather than making visible intersections of ongoing state neglect, racism, sexism, homophobia, and other expressions of colonialism in contributing to overwhelming realities of physical and sexual violence, public discourse naturalizes violence within Indigenous families and blames Indigenous people. These discourses rely on and reproduce gendered colonial stereotypes about Indigenous people, especially Indigenous women."

"Reclaiming Power and Place: Tile Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous

Women and Girls" makes clear that violence against First Nations, Inuit, and Metis women, girls, two spirit, and gender diverse people in Canada stems from targeted colonial gendered violence.

As the Final Report states, "Canada is a settler colonial country. European nations, followed by the new government of 'Canada,' imposed its own laws, institutions, and cultures on Indigenous Peoples while occupying their lands.

Racist colonial attitudes justified Canada's policies of assimilation, which sought to eliminate First Nations, Inuit, and Metis Peoples as distinct Peoples and communities. Colonial violence, as well as racism, sexism, homophobia, and transphobia against Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people, has become embedded in everyday life - whether this is through interpersonal forms of violence, through institutions like the health care system and the justice system, or in the laws, policies and structures of Canadian society.

The result has been that many Indigenous people have grown up normalized to violence, while Canadian society shows al appalling apathy to addressing the issue. The National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls finds that this amounts to genocide."

So, at BWSS, we stay on the frontline, Our crisis line continues 2417/365 receiving an average of 50 calls daily and our crisis line volunteers, support workers, legal advocates, and counsellors tirelessly respond to tens of thousands of requests for service annually.

We will also be launching our first report as part of our multi-year Colour of Violence project examining the intersections of race and gender for Indigenous, Black, newcomer immigrant/refugee, and racialized women and gender diverse people experiencing gender-based violence in British Columbia.

And this week, we will be on the streets of the Lower Mainland with our multilingual "Femicide is the Shadow Pandemic" posters raising awareness about the gruesome reality of femicide all around us.

We know that safety changes everything, and we are committed to ending femicide and all forms of gender-based violence.

CALL: 604-687 1868

HEART OF THE CITY FESTIVAL IS HIRING! Vancouver

Moving Theatre

is hiring a new As-

sociate Producer for the Downtown

Eastside

Heart of the City Festival. If you are dedicated to the Downtown

Eastside and have experi-

ence as an artist/producer, interested

we would be very

in talking with you.

The details about the position cation information

and the appli-

are available at: https:/1

www.allianceforarts.com!iobboard!2022!4!S!associate-producerdowntown-eastsi

de-hea rt -of -the-city- festiva I

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