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Aboriginal Women on the Move – Cross Canada Cycle Tour 2006 to Reach St. John’s, NFLD on August 11th

On July 17th, three extraordinary women rode into Ottawa after bicycling over 4000 kilometres since early June from Vancouver, British Columbia. Along the way, they have encountered blistering heat, violent winds and rain, highway traffic at breakneck speeds, and occasionally curious wildlife.

These three women, Sheila Swasson, Chi Metallic - Larocque and Donna Martin - Metallic, are Mi'gmaq First Nation and mothers. They are cycling across Canada to raise awareness and bring attention to family violence in Aboriginal communities and violence against Aboriginal women.

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Sadly, many women in Canada still live with violence. In particular, Aboriginal women confront very high levels of violence. The Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC), which launched a national education and prevention campaign in 2005, estimates that approximately 500 Aboriginal women have gone missing in the last 20 years as a result of violence. This estimate is supported by 1996 government statistics which showed that: Aboriginal women with status were five times more likely to die as a result of violence than any other group of Canadian women.

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