Systemic underfunding and colonial legacies drive violence against Indigenous women and girls; advocates demand equitable federal funding and structural reform

Indigenous women’s groups (e.g., NWAC, MMIWG2S+ organizations) have long documented how colonial land theft, resource extraction, and state neglect create conditions for violence, yet their knowledge is sidelined in favor of bureaucratic solutions. Traditional governance systems, such as Haudenosaunee clan mothers’ authority over safety, offer models for restorative justice that prioritize community accountability over punitive state intervention. The erasure of Indigenous legal orders in Canadian policy reflects a deeper epistemic violence that frames Indigenous knowledge as inferior to Western frameworks.

The crisis traces back to 19th-century policies like the *Gradual Civilization Act* (1857) and residential schools, which severed kinship networks and normalized gendered violence. The *Sixties Scoop* (1950s–80s) and forced sterilizations (2000s–present) demonstrate how the state has systematically targeted Indigenous women’s bodily autonomy and reproductive futures. Contemporary risks are amplified by the *Indian Act*’s gender-discriminatory provisions, which continue to disenfranchise Indigenous women and Two-Spirit people.

In Australia, the *Uluru Statement from the Heart* links violence against Indigenous women to the failure to recognize *Makarrata* (truth and justice), mirroring Canada’s MMIWG2S+ inquiry’s calls for a national action plan. In Scandinavia, Sámi women’s resistance to state-led assimilation (e.g., forced relocations) highlights how extractive industries (e.g., wind farms, mining) exacerbate gendered violence by disrupting traditional lifeways. African Indigenous feminisms (e.g., *ubuntu*) center communal care as a counter to state violence, offering a framework for Indigenous-led safety systems.

Research from the *Native Women’s Association of Canada* and *Statistics Canada* shows that Indigenous women are 12x more likely to be murdered or missing than non-Indigenous women, with 70% of cases involving systemic failures (e.g., police inaction, underreporting). Studies on *ecofeminism* link resource extraction to increased sexual violence against Indigenous women, as extractive industries disrupt traditional territories and increase transient male labor populations. The *MMIWG2S+ inquiry* (2019) provides empirical evidence that colonialism is the root cause, yet these findings are rarely integrated into policy.

Artists like Christi Belcourt (*The Witness Blanket*) and Christi Posca (*MMIWG2S+ quilts*) use visual storytelling to map the intergenerational trauma of colonial violence, making the crisis legible beyond statistics. Inuit throat singing, revitalized by communities like *The Qaggiq Collective*, serves as a form of resistance and healing, reclaiming cultural practices that state violence sought to erase. Ceremonial practices, such as the *Sweat Lodge*, are used by survivors to process trauma, yet these are often dismissed as 'unscientific' in mainstream discourse.

Scenario modeling by the *Yellowhead Institute* suggests that without reparative funding (e.g., $30B over 10 years for Indigenous-led safety programs), violence rates will persist at current levels, with extractive industries expanding into unceded territories. A *land back* transition—returning 50% of Indigenous territories by 2040—could reduce violence by 40% by restoring traditional governance and economic sovereignty. Alternative futures include *Indigenous-led policing models* (e.g., Anishinaabe *Ogichidaa* safety networks) and *digital sovereignty* initiatives to counter state surveillance.

Two-Spirit and LGBTQ+ Indigenous people face disproportionate risks, with 60% reporting violence in the *2SLGBTQQIA+ MMIWG2S+ report* (2021), yet their needs are excluded from most funding proposals. Urban Indigenous women, who make up 60% of MMIWG2S+ cases, are often invisible in rural-focused policies, reflecting the state’s failure to address the urban housing and service gaps created by colonial displacement. Black and racialized Indigenous women (e.g., Afro-Indigenous communities in the Maritimes) face compounded discrimination, with their leadership in safety initiatives routinely sidelined.