National Family and Survivors Circle
The National Family and Survivors Circle (NFSC) forever holds in our hearts and minds Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people who are missing, have been murdered, or are survivors of gender- and race-based violence. We recognize and honour families and survivors and all those who participated in the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls that got us here today in developing a National Action Plan. We also recognize some families and survivors have not yet had the opportunity to share their truth as the genocide continues. They must be provided with opportunities to be involved for healing, honouring, and commemorating their loved ones who are missing or were murdered.
As family members and survivors, the National Family and Survivors Circle is dedicated to doing our part in creating a Canada where Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people are valued and respected, free to fully enjoy our Indigenous rights, including Inherent, Treaty, and Human Rights, and continue to reclaim our Power and Place with dignity and substantive equality. We agreed to participate in the National Action Plan process with the assurance that our lived experience, expertise, and autonomy as family members and survivors would guide the identification of strength-based best practices and actions that would be included in the National Action Plan.
"The Path Forward – Reclaiming Power and Place" is the National Family and Survivors Circle’s contribution to the 2021 Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ People National Action Plan: Ending Violence Against Indigenous Women, Girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ People. A summary of key components is provided in this National Action Plan document. It is available in full at our website at https://familysurvivorscircle.ca. "The Path Forward – Reclaiming Power and Place" highlights our advocacy and guidance to the National Action Plan development partners.
The National Family and Survivor’s Circle has demonstrated how pathways can be formed for full inclusion of families and survivors in the work. A decolonizing approach that puts the lived experience, expertise, and autonomy at the centre for transformative outcomes. The impacts from the actions must be felt on the ground by Indigenous women, girls, 2SLGBTQQIA+ people, families, and survivors of gender- and race-based violence. The process and outcomes must have accountability mechanisms in place to measure transformative change.
The 231 Calls for Justice, which includes specific Inuit, Métis, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people Calls for Justice, identified in the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Final Report and the 21 Calls for Justice identified in the Supplementary Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Kepek-Quebec are legal imperatives.
We all have a shared responsibility and accountability for ending all forms of violence. Every day that we wait for action Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people continue to be murdered, go missing, or experience violence at an alarming rate, perpetuating a cycle where another generation must recover from violence. Political and social will is imperative for the success of the National Action Plan in response to the Calls for Justice. We are all part of the solution.
The National Family and Survivors Circle is committed to continually advocating that all governments, agencies, and organizations who have a responsibility in ending the genocide against Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people centre families and survivors in their work. The full and independent involvement of families, survivors, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people is a defining aspect of a decolonizing approach in creating transformative change.
Let us come together in true partnership where the lived experience, expertise, and autonomy of families, survivors, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people are recognized and integrated into a decolonizing approach that confronts and challenges colonialism and restores and builds upon Indigenous knowledge systems and laws. Past, present, and future generations are counting on us.