Moose Hide Campaign marks ten years as a national event

February 11th marks Moose Hide Campaign Day, a day to raise awareness on violence against women and children, and UVic is joining forces.

By

●

,

●

moose hide campaign

This year marks the 10-year anniversary of the Moose Hide Campaign, a national grassroots movement dedicated to ending violence against Indigenous women and children.

Sage Lacerte, from the Carrier Nation, has served as the National Youth Ambassador for the Moose Hide Campaign since 2018. 

“(It’s) a grassroots movement of Indigenous and non-Indigenous men and boys who stand up against violence towards women and children in Canada,” she says.

Since the Victoria-based organization was founded in 2011, it has distributed more than two million moose hide pins and engaged more than 2,000 communities across the country, says Lacerte.

The moose hide pins, most often worn by men, represent a commitment to respect and to protect Indigenous women and children year-round.

This year, campaign founders say the work is especially important, as domestic violence has risen 30 per cent in some Canadian regions since quarantine began— and Indigenous women are three times more likely to experience domestic violence than non-Indigenous women.

Moose hide campaign
Photo by Pat Kane

On Moose Hide Campaign Day, Feb. 11, a national event is held and there’s an invitation for men to join in a fast, as a way to deepen their personal commitment to the cause.

This year, speeches and workshops will be held online to commemorate the event. It will follow another “Unessay” competition event on Feb. 10 that Moosehide Campaign is collaborating on with the University of Victoria to promote creative expression in academics, outside of traditional essay writing.

Lacerte has a bachelor’s degree from the Department of Gender Studies at UVic and is one of the contest’s judges.

“We want to see folks favour sculpture, film, visual art, poetry, and any of these forms of media that students don’t necessarily engage themselves in, especially in humanities, which is so essay-heavy,” she says.

Some of the project pitches that have made the top ten explains Lacerta are a video game with alternate storytelling options, a Freudian painting, a puzzle and “a scarf that is apparently so heavy that an individual can’t pick it up themselves.”

UVic has had a long-standing relationship with the Moose Hide Campaign, Lacerte adds. 

“It’s nice to be able to have a home institution where I can go and share that message where there is community behind me,” she says.

Author

Katłįà (Catherine) Lafferty, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

We live in a media ecosystem that thrives on misinformation. Big Tech and AI companies are consuming the work of real human beings and Canadian news has been banned on Facebook and Instagram.

Eden Fineday

And yet, I have hope for journalism because of the work we’re doing at IndigiNews.

At IndigiNews, we embody tâpwêwin — the Cree value of integrity and responsibility in truth-telling. We are committed to our independent, Indigenous-led newsroom rooted in community, accountability, and relationality. We believe storytelling is a sacred fire that connects our pasts, presents, and futures through the storytellers in our Storytelling Lodge. IndigiNews creates space for Indigenous journalists, storytellers, Knowledge Keepers, and communities to gather, learn, and share stories that matter.

As a registered charity, we are building a fire that allows our work not just to ignite but to thrive. Rather than relying on advertising or corporate acquisition, IndigiNews is sustained by people like you who believe Indigenous stories are important for the future of our communities.

Your support is making a real difference.

Our community of supporters, our Firekeepers, make it possible to grow our newsroom, publish award-winning journalism, train emerging Indigenous journalists through initiatives like the ReFocus Photojournalism Fellowship, and publish trustworthy stories that serve our communities across the country. Every story we publish helps fill in gaps left by mainstream media and ensures Indigenous perspectives are represented with care, accuracy and respect.

But there is still more work to do.

As the media landscape becomes more and more uncertain, community support is as necessary and essential as it’s ever been. Every new Firekeeper helps protect the independence of our newsroom and strengthens journalism that is accountable to our many and varied communities over corporations.

That’s why we’re inviting you to become a Firekeeper.

Firekeepers tend to and protect the sacred fire. Your monthly contributions directly support IndigiNews’s Storytelling Lodge, helps sustain our independent, Indigenous-led newsroom, and ensures future generations of Indigenous storytellers have the resources they need to do the work.

As a registered Canadian charity, all eligible donations receive a charitable tax receipt.

If you believe Indigenous stories matter, if you value independent journalism, and if you want to help build a strong future for Indigenous media, we invite you to join our circle of Firekeepers today.

Together, we can keep the fire burning.

— Eden Fineday, Publisher, IndigiNews

Support us now

Latest Stories