Halifax

"Highway of Tears" Halifax (Bus Stop Theatre) - 7PM

7:00pm
- 9:00pm
Monday April 20 2015

Halifax fundraiser screening for the Loretta Saunders Scholarship Fund of "Highway of Tears" directed by Matt Smiley. 

All proceeds from this screening to benefit the Loretta Saunders Scholarship Fund. 

Order tickets via Eventbrite:
http://www.eventbrite.com/e/highway-of-tears-halifax-bus-stop-theatre-7pm-tickets-16309132053?aff=efbevent

A Q&A with Matt Smiley and a special guest to be added soon. 

THE LORETTA SAUNDERS COMMUNITY SCHOLARSHIP FUND

What is the Fund? 

The Loretta Saunders Community Scholarship Fund supports indigenous women (First Nations, Inuit, Métis) to complete their chosen field of study through the provision of financial bursaries bestowed annually to applicants selected by an independent Community Council. The Community Foundation of Nova Scotia administers the Fund and the Community Council -- made up of an urban indigenous community member, a representative of Loretta’s family, two representatives of post-secondary institutions in Atlantic Canada, Molly Peters (or elected replacement), and Dr. Darryl Leroux (or departmental alternative) -- adjudicates the awards. 

Community Council 2014-2016

Darryl Leroux -- Assistant professor, Saint Mary’s University.

Diane Obed -- Mi’kmaq/Aboriginal support worker, Halifax Regional School Board. 

Molly Peters -- Anti-violence educator, Antigonish Women’s Resource Centre and Paq’tnkek Health Centre.

Lisa White -- Loretta’s cousin, Women's rights advocate. 

Ann Sylliboy -- Post-secondary consultant, Mi'kmaw Kina'matnewey. 

Meg Townsend -- Equity Officer, Acadia University. 

Who is Loretta Saunders?
Loretta Saunders was an Inuk woman attending Saint Mary’s University in Halifax months away from completing an honours degree in Criminology when she was brutally murdered in February 2014. Despite the many obstacles she faced in her life, Loretta excelled during her studies, including in her thesis work on three cases of missing and/or murdered indigenous women in Mi’kma’ki. In her work, Loretta spoke passionately about her research into the continued impacts of colonialism on indigenous women like her. Here is an excerpt from her thesis proposal:

“My story isn't unique, thousands of girls are exposed to the exact same experiences that I couldn't even fathom wishing upon another human being, yet our very own government is responsible for orchestrating the events and developing the policies and practices that led to the marginalization of generations of my people … This can no longer be accepted by our women and girls. It is through this project … that I aspire to educate and enlighten others to the devastating intergenerational impacts that colonization has created for us, as well as provide hope and inspiration that change is possible.”

Loretta became a passionate advocate for an end to violence against indigenous women and girls and an outspoken advocate for a just reconciliation between indigenous peoples and settlers. In order to honour Loretta’s passion about justice for indigenous peoples and her dedication to her university studies, Dr. Darryl Leroux and Molly Peters -- the co-recipient of the 2013 Nova Scotia Native Women’s Association (NSNWA) women of the year award -- created the Fund.

The amount of the awards can range from $500 to $2,000, depending on the size of the endowment. The fund accepts donations at all times and provides donors with a charitable tax receipt. Please contact the Community Foundation of Nova Scotia to donate. 

HIGHWAY OF TEARS

Since the late 1960s, at least eighteen young women — many of them from disadvantaged First Nations communities — have disappeared or been found murdered along the 724-kilometre stretch of Highway 16 in northern British Columbia. None of these cold cases were ever solved until 2012, when a special RCMP investigation was able to link DNA from one of the murder victims to deceased US criminal Bobby Jack Fowler; but this single answer has done little to heal the wounds of Aboriginal communities who have seen dozens of their young women vanish along the "Highway of Tears," victims not only of murderous predators but of the systemic racism of a federal government that keeps them trapped on impoverished reservations and, as critics charge, evinced little interest in apprehending their killers.

Narrated by Nathan Fillion, Matt Smiley's hard-hitting documentary Highway of Tears not only movingly relates the personal stories of the victims, but investigates how the legacy of generational poverty, high unemployment and endemic violence in their communities contributed to their tragic fates — and how contemporary First Nations leaders are striving to cure those ills.

OFFICIAL WEBSITE
http://www.highwayoftearsfilm.com/

FACEBOOK 
https://www.facebook.com/Highwayoftearsdocumentary

TWITTER
https://twitter.com/highwayoftears