“For the TWU community to participate in this annual event is one way of walking together in a good way: learning, understanding and committing to support efforts to end violence against women and children. My hope and prayer is that as our learning and understanding grows, our journey together will flourish.”
—Patricia Victor, University Siya:m and Director of TWU’s Institute of Indigenous Issues and Perspectives
Canadians are invited to join together on Moose Hide Campaign Day on February 11, 2021, in remembrance and support of victims of domestic violence in our country.
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, rates of domestic violence are rising. Around the world, 243 million women aged 15-49 suffered sexual and/or physical violence during the past year, according to UN Women. With the ongoing public health restrictions, the risks have intensified for many women, who may be quarantined together with abusers and isolated from social support.
Within our own borders, the Canadian Women's Foundation reports that approximately every six days, a woman in Canada is killed by her intimate partner. Moreover, Indigenous women are killed at six times the rate of non-Indigenous women.
The Moose Hide Campaign is founded upon the belief that change is possible, and that domestic violence is preventable.
At Trinity Western University, Patricia Victor, Sto:lo Elder and Director of TWU’s Institute of Indigenous Issues and Perspectives, encourages the community to increase their awareness of these important issues.
“For the TWU community to participate in this annual event is one way of walking together in a good way: learning, understanding and committing to support efforts to end violence against women and children. My hope and prayer is that as our learning and understanding grows, our journey together will flourish,” said Victor.
As Trinity Western's University Siya:m, Victor supports Aboriginal students directly as a coach and mentor, and works closely with faculty to ensure that Aboriginal perspectives are integrated in all disciplines, providing opportunities for the TWU community to become sensitive and knowledgeable about Aboriginal worldview, history and culture.
"Our shared history reveals a broken relationship, but as all Canadians commit to hear the truth, to acknowledge that injustice has prevailed, and to walk together to find ways to reconcile, then all of our lives will be enriched," Victor said.
Victor teaches a course in Indigenous Perspectives in Education at TWU. She leads annual forums with Christians schools in B.C. and is often invited to speak on various topics relating to Indigenous ways of knowing, and reconciliation.
TWU Spartans Athletes team up to raise awareness
A group of Trinity Western Spartans athletes and alumni are teaming up to bring awareness to the issue of violence against women and children alongside the Moose Hide Campaign.
The group led by Spartans alum Nick Colyn (Langley) and second-year Levi Osterwalder (Camrose, Alta.) will run a collective 725km stretch – the same distance of northern British Columbia's Highway of Tears – a section of highway between Prince George and Prince Rupert and the location of many missing and murdered indigenous women.
"In having conversations about the Moose Hide Campaign, I was shocked how few people had never heard of the Highway of Tears before," said Colyn. "That really pushed me towards finding a way we could collectively bring awareness to an initiative that emphasizes a very sad and devastating part of our provinces' history. The idea to run the distance of the Highway of Tears was the first thing that came to mind, and it allows for others to easily come alongside and contribute to the initiative as well."
"Spartan Athletics very much wants to draw attention to the issue of violence against women and children as represented in the Moose Hide Campaign," said Jeff Gamache, Director of Athletics. "For many years, I drove the Highways of Northern BC while I was tree planting, never knowing the deep sadness that this stretch of road would become known for as the Highway of Tears.
"I have since learned of the atrocities within the Indigenous communities that have happened on this 725 kilometre stretch of road. Now is the time to learn and truly understand our history and commit to end violence against women and children. As Spartan Athletics, we are aiming to run 725 kilometres in solidarity with Indigenous women and children in the hope that men will live up to Christ's call to love, respect and cherish the women in our lives."
TWU School of Nursing joins together in support
Students are welcome to pick up a Moose Hide pin at TWU's School of Nursing. Wearing the moose hide signifies a person's commitment to honour, respect, and protect the women and children in our communities, and to work together to end violence against women and children.
The School of Nursing is also hosting a virtual watch party on February 11 to view, "The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open," a film by two Canadian First Nations filmmakers.
"As nurses, we want to build strong, healthy communities in which all members are safe and can experience shalom (human flourishing). To do so, we need education and awareness about how we can best be involved," said Dr. Sheryl Reimer-Kirkham, Professor and Dean of the School of Nursing.
Read this story in the Langley Advance Times.
About Trinity Western University
Founded in 1962, Trinity Western University is Canada’s premier Christian liberal arts university dedicated to equipping students to establish meaningful connections between career, life, and the needs of the world. It is a fully accredited research institution offering liberal arts and sciences, as well as professional schools in business, nursing, education, human kinetics, graduate studies, and arts, media, and culture. It has four campuses and locations: Langley, Richmond-Lansdowne, Richmond-Minoru, and Ottawa. TWU emphasizes academic excellence, research, and student engagement in a vital faith community committed to forming leaders to have a transformational impact on culture. Learn more at www.twu.ca or follow us on Twitter @TrinityWestern, on Facebook and LinkedIn.
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