Taken the Series - Four Sacred Medicines - Sage

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Four Sacred Medicines – Sage

September 15, 2017

by Katarina Ziervogel

On this website, there is an e-ceremony and e-smudge available to honour the families and of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous women with four Sacred Medicines (Tobacco, Sage, Cedar, Sweetgrass) to choose from. Four Sacred Medicines comes from one of the First Nations’ tribe Anishinaabe. But the sacred medicines are used widely for all Indigenous people within their prayers, rituals, and healing circles within the community and our people. Many cultures and religions use plant medicines for several reasons. In Anishinaabe and for all Indigenous people, this is best known as smudging. Each of four Sacred Medicine has its own healing for specific areas to a human being or the environment.

Sage is the West of the four Sacred Medicines. It is used to release one person or more of its negativity and deep troubles. In ceremonies and teachings, sage is popular due to its strong presence of medicine and healing properties out of other Sacred Medicines. Other than ceremonies and teachings, it can be used to purify a home or a being. They also can be carried as sacred bundles by people. Sage can be bought in several places but traditionally, sage is meant to be gifted or gathered. Not to be bought or sold.

Katarina Ziervogel is a Toronto-based writer who was an intern in Taken’s writing department last season, and is now studying at @RyersonU. Katarina was an @myorangedaisy documentary subject and keynote speaker, and a recent nominee for the YM-YWCA Women of Distinction Awards. Follow her journey as a deaf, Indigenous female filmmaker from Winnipeg living her dreams in Toronto on Twitter @katarinaun . Each week, Katarina will share a new blog with Taken’s audience that relates to Canada’s MMIWG2S. This week is part two in a four part series on sacred medicines.

# MMIW #MMIWG #MMIWG2S

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Data sources and interpretation statement

This infographic uses highly credible data sources and expert interpretation to communicate the odds of an Indigenous woman being murdered or missing compared with other women across Canada.

Data sources

The primary data source used to create this interactive infographic is Dr. Maryanne Pearce’s, H.B.A., M.A, doctoral thesis An Awkward Silence: Missing and Murdered Vulnerable Women in Canada and the Canadian Justice System, which includes a database of missing and murdered women and girls in Canada. The database has been updated continually (July 5, 2016), and has been used by CBC for their special series on Indigenous women and girls, the Globe and Mail, and APTN, as well as the RCMP, provincial/territorial governments, non-governmental organizations and grassroots groups across the country.

Main dissertation database sources

Police or Government Websites
Alberta’s Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains (www.albertamissingpersons.ca)
British Columbia Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General (www.missing-u.ca/britishcolumbia.htm)
Canada’s Missing People (www.canadasmissing.ca)
Crimestoppers
O.P.P.: Project Resolve (www.missing-u.ca)
RCMP national and regional divisions (www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca)
RCMP: Project KARE (www.kare.ca)
Saskatchewan Chiefs of Police (www.sacp.ca)
Manitoba Chiefs of Police (www.macp.mb.ca)
Provincial police forces:
Ontario (www.opp.ca)
Quebec (www.suretequebec.gouv.qc.ca)
Government-based missing children agencies such as Child Find Canada (www.childfind.ca), Our Missing Children10 and Missing Children Canada (https://missingkids.ca/app/en/missing_children_database)
Municipal police forces throughout Canada:
Barrie Police Service (www.police.barrie.on.ca)
Belleville Police Service (www.police.belleville.on.ca)
Chatham-Kent Police Service (www.ckpolice.ca)
City of Miramichi (www.miramichi.org)
City of Prince George (www.city.pg.bc.ca)
Delta Police Department (www.deltapolice.ca)
Durham Regional Police Service (www.drps.ca)
Edmonton Police Service (www.edmontonpolice.ca)
Edmundston Police (www.edmundston.ca)
Halifax Regional Police (www.halifax.ca/police/)
Halton Regional Police Service (www.hrps.on.ca)
London Police (www.police.london.ca)
Medicine Hat Police Service (www.medicinehatpolice.com)
New Westminster Police (www.nwpolice.org)
Niagara Regional Police Service (www.nrps.com)
Ottawa Police Service (www.ottawa.ca)
Peel Regional Police (www.peelpolice.on.ca)
Prince Albert Police Service (www.papolice.ca)
Québec Secours, online: (http://sitequebecsecours.qc.ca)
Regina Police Service (www.reginapolice.ca)
Saanich Police (www.saanichpolice.ca)
Saskatoon Police Service (www.police.saskatoon.sk.ca)
Strathroy Caradoc Police Service (www.strathroy-caradoc.ca)
Toronto Police (www.torontopolice.on)
Vancouver Police Department (http://vancouver.ca/police)
Victoria Police Department (www.vicpd.ca)
Waterloo Regional Police Service (www.wrps.on.ca)
Winnipeg Police Service (www.winnipeg.ca)
York Regional Police (www.police.york.on.ca)

Non-police or Government Websites, General

Association of the Families of Persons Murdered or Disappeared (www.afpad.ca)
Avis de Recherche (http://adr.tv)
BC Institute Against Family Violence (www.bcifv.org).
Canadian Parents of Murdered Children and Survivors of Homicide Victims Inc. (www.cpomc.ca)
Enfant-Retour Québec (www.enfant-retourquebec.ca)
Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations (www.fsin.co
Giant Dwarf (http://www.giantdwarf.com/id522.htm)
Highway of Tears (www.highwayoftears.ca)
Homeless Nation (http://homelessnation.org)
I am Missing (www.iammissing.ca)
Missing Canadians (www.missingcanadians.ca)
Missing or Unsolved Murders Of Indigenous Sisters (https://crowdmap.com/welcome)
Missing People Net (Wayne Leng) (www.missingpeople.net)
Native Women’s Association of Canada (www.nwac.ca)
No More Silence (http://nomoresilence-nomoresilence.blogspot.ca)
North American Missing Persons Network (www.nampn.org)
Ontario’s Missing Adults (www.missingadults.ca)
Prime Time Crime (www.primetimecrime.com)
Sex Professionals of Canada (www.spoc.ca)
Sisters in Solidarity (http://sisters-in-solidarity.com)
Stolen and Silent (http://stolenandsilent.weebly.com)
The Charley Project (www.charleyproject.org)
The Doe Network (www.doenetwork.org)
The Last Link on the Left (www.lastlinkontheleft.com)
Unsolved Canada (www.unsolvedcanada.ca)
Vanished Voices (www.vanishedvoices.com)
Websleuths (http://websleuths.com)
Winnipeg Homicides (www.winnipeghomicide.org)

Results interpretation

The data was interpreted by Dr. Tracey Peter, an Associate Professor and Associate Head in the Department of Sociology at the University of Manitoba. Dr. Peter helped transform the data into an odds ratio – a ratio that represents the odds an outcome will occur given a particular exposure, compared to the odds of the outcome occurring in the absence of that exposure.

To create the odds ratio she combined Dr. Maryanne Pearce’s data with Statistics Canada 2011 National Household Survey and newethncity/nnnewstatus variables. All data was then filtered by the last 10 years of murdered or missing women. She recommended focussing analysis on the last 10 years because the population data is based on 2011 (approximately 5 years before and after that date), but to go back further would be difficult since there are more widespread population changes. Finally, the per capita representation was determined allowing for a fair 1:1 comparison between each ethnic group.

About Dr. Tracey Peter

Dr. Tracey Peter is an Associate Professor and Associate Head in the Department of Sociology at the University of Manitoba. Her general research and publication interests include: research methods/applied statistics, mental health and well-being, issues of homophobia and transphobia /LGBTQ-inclusive education, trauma and violence, suicide prevention, and social inequality and marginalization.