Murky Waters: An Arts-Based Inquiry into Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls

Abstract

The Forks in Winnipeg, Manitoba is the central site of this study which un/covers the potentialities of combining critical place inquiries and a/r/tography to mobilize Calls for Justice and education around displacement and disappearance of Indigenous Women and Girls. This study reflects part of my doctoral research which connects living, action-oriented inquiries utilizing earth-based art/works as public provocations. In this contribution, I share how my artistic process of encircling the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) monument with an intricate soil spiral and my encounters with women’s stories and educational resources from the National Inquiry have uncovered complexities of the ongoing disappearance and erasure of women. The discourses embedded in place reveal strong connections to settler colonial forces and have drawn attention to the role of the arts in supporting commemoration and reclaiming discourses of power and place. This action-oriented approach aims to find ways to bring important topics around MMIWG into curricular discussions. This study inspired action steps for advancing the Calls for Justice, including the design of walking professional learning experiences for teachers. The study shows how the place at the Forks functions as a framework inspired by the layered histories and geographies of this significant location.