By: Hannah Fraser, News Writer
Content warning: references to missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, and residential schools.
May 16 was Moose Hide Campaign Day, a day organized by the “BC-born Indigenous-led grassroots movement to engage men and boys in ending violence towards women and children.” Seeing the rise of Indigenous women and children who have faced violence in Canada, the campaign has been working for over 10 years using “Indigenous ceremony and traditional ways of learning and healing” to raise awareness. The Peak corresponded with Omar Karim, national director for post-secondary engagement initiatives, for more information.
The campaign started in 2011 when founders Paul and Raven Lacerte were hunting moose in the Carrier territory “along the Highway of Tears in Northern BC, where so many women have gone missing or been murdered.” They thought about how to “repurpose the hide for social innovation,” Karim said. The hide represents “a little piece of land medicine” for domestic and gender-based violence. “Wearing the pin signifies your commitment to honour, respect, and protect the women and children in your life and speak out against gender-based and domestic violence,” reads the Moose Hide Campaign website.
“The first of 25,000 pins were cut by Raven and her sisters,” and the campaign has now created “over five million to six million moose hide pins distributed across this country.” According to the campaign, the hide is sourced from moose hunted for food and ceremony by traditional hunters, or from moose who have already died. “No animals are hunted specifically to supply hides for the Moose Hide Campaign,” the organization said. Synthetic pins are also available.
“We say that it’s an act of reconciliation when you wear the pin,” Omar Karim, national director for post-secondary engagement initiatives
The campaign also focuses on educating “Indigenous and non-Indigenous men and boys” to stand up “against violence towards women and children” by “addressing negative masculinity.”
According to the Assembly of First Nations, Indigenous women and girls are four times more likely to be victims of violence at some point in their lives than non-Indigenous women. Over half of Indigenous women have suffered physical assault at some point in their lives, while 46% have reported sexual harassment or assault. This is due to a number of intersecting factors including systemic racism, misogyny, and the long-term impacts of colonialism, such as intergenerational trauma from residential schools. Indigenous groups like the Moose Hide Campaign are calling to action against the rise of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls (MMIWG).
“We say that it’s an act of reconciliation when you wear the pin,” said Karim. “We encourage members to fast as a form of sacrifice to honour the people in your lives.”
The “grounding tradition” of hunting the moose for cultural purposes was knowledge passed “from one generation to the other, something the residential school system tried to erase.”
The campaign focuses on educating Indigenous communities, K-12, and post-secondary institutions, asking: “how do we educate and provide educational awareness about the campaign? About sharing love, care, compassion? About creating healthy and respectful relationships?”
“Our hope is that as people go through their next generation of their journey, that they can take that learning, that understanding and then create that change within their communities,” said Karim.
If you or someone you know is in need of support, visit The National Inquiry into MMIWG for a toll-free help line, resources, and outreach.
