Grace, courage, and gentle humour

Advocating for Indigenous women

By Christine Gebel
May/June 2013

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As she introduced herself, Denise Booth thanked us for the honour of speaking to our group. But truly, the honour was ours.

Rosemary Williamson, OLM, had invited Denise to a gathering of Sisters and our group of Partners With OLM on a Sunday afternoon. A mother of two young girls and coordinator of culture at the Native Women’s Resource Centre of Toronto, Denise generously gave of her precious weekend time.

Through stories and video clips, and by answering our questions, Denise gave us a glimpse of what it means to be an Indigenous woman in Canada today. With grace, courage, and even at times gentle humour, she spoke of abuse and oppression, past and present...

...of residential schools, which were used to try to kill the Indian in the child;
...of Native people as Canada’s dirty secret;
...of her own children being the first in three generations of her family to be raised by their birth parents;
...of society’s silence and lack of response to violence against Indigenous women. She asked: Why is the disappearance of more than 600 Indigenous women in Canada not a national emergency?

But she didn’t leave us there. Rather, Denise chose to highlight the strength and resiliency of the women who walk through the doors of the Native Women’s Resource Centre every day. She focused on healing and hope. She told us that she is studying midwifery. In fact, she is already a midwife as she daily helps bring to birth the hopes and dreams of Indigenous women for new life.

Naturally, the Idle No More movement was mentioned. Founded by four young women, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, this is a movement around which all Canadians can unite for the common good. As Denise mentioned, the eyes of the world are now upon us. What will be our response?

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