"Hamilton event to draw attention to missing and murdered indigenous women"

One of the busiest intersections in Hamilton will be shut down from 2 p.m. to dusk on Friday, Feb. 13 to draw attention to missing and murdered indigenous women.

The event, dubbed Shut Down Hamilton, is part of a larger, nationwide effort to force action on the issue, with events planned nationwide in a grassroots initiative called Shut Down Canada.

John Garlow, spokesperson for the Shut Down Hamilton group, is calling on more Six Nations people to join them on the 13th, as they are planning to shut down the intersection of Main and King Streets near Gage Park.

"We will be concentrating on missing and murdered indigenous women from Turtle Island ," said Garlow. "We're going to be stopping traffic, once for sure, during the day, for a few round dances and we're still making plans - we're not sure ­ about delaying the train tracks close by."

They will be handing out pamphlets to passing motorists, lighting a sacred fire to honour the women and their families, and there will be speakers and drumming, as well.

Garlow says shutting down transportation and infrastructure in Canada is the only way indigenous people can get their voices heard when it comes to such issues.

He said the economic loss of the shut down is meant to conflate with the money that the federal government could have used to hold an inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women.

"Since {Prime Minister Stephen Harper) won't pay for it, the idea is to take that much or more of what it would cost for the inquiry and take it out of their pockets, anyway," said Garlow.

"The best way to prevent the shutdown would be to get something done about it, even if they give us the money, which they owe the native people anyway, and we can do the inquiry ourselves, which is another solution," he said.

Garlow said grassroots organizers don't want any band council involvement.

"This is grassroots-motivated. Band council is not grassroots. I don't care what anybody says. They are the Canadian government and it's time for people to start learning that fact so we can move forward. That way when issues like this come up, it can be dealt with properly."

Garlow believes indigenous women are more prone to experience violence in Canada at disproportionately higher rates than non-indigenous women due to a number of factors, including racism and the ongoing effects of colonialism.

"Everybody's been taught to hate us," he said. "Canada and the Crown have taught the immigrants to hate us which will make it easier for them to steal our land. In any warfare, usually the women and the children are one of the first ones that people target."

He said the group has contacted Hamilton Police, through a liason, informing them of their plans. There is the potential for criminal charges against participants, he said, but he is not concerned, and says the issue of missing and murdered indigenous women is more important than any charges they may receive.

Official estimates have placed the number of missing and murdered indigenous women at over 1,300 since the 1960s.

Garlow is encouraging people from Six Nations to join them in Hamilton. To get involved, people can type in Shut Down Hamilton on Facebook to learn more about the event.