...I'm going to re-post my National Aboriginal Day blog entry.
Wait, who's got what in whose ass?
Sorry. I'm getting ahead of myself.
To make a long story short, I just heard on the radio that Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper is once again dismissing calls for a national inquiry into missing and murdered Aboriginal women.
According to Herr Harper, "We should not view this as a sociological phenomenon. We should view it as crime."
source: CBC
WHAT? Uhhh... you know acts can multitask, right? They can be crimes AND sociological phenomena. Yes, at the same time! Imagine that!
Harper's adamant denial that there are
systemic roots to violence against Aboriginal women in this country is just... I can't even... I have no words. It's just... no. No, I'm not going into it again. I already did in the post below, which is a lot less ranty than whatever I might spew if I let myself right now.
Here's my National Aboriginal Day post:
June 21st is National Aboriginal Day here in Canada. That's why I've chosen today to release my collection of explicit lesbian romance stories featuring Aboriginal characters.
"Don't You Savage Me" is now available for purchase and, best of all, I will be donating 100% of the royalties I earn to charitable organizations working for and with Aboriginal women in Canada.
What sparked the idea to put together a collection that exists solely for the purpose of raising money for Aboriginal women?
Well, if you live in Canada you might have heard about an RCMP report on missing and murdered Aboriginal women. It's a big-fucking-deal.
- The RCMP say they worked with Statistics Canada and almost 300 policing
agencies to produce the report, which found that aboriginal women
account for 4.3 per cent of the overall Canadian female population yet account for 16 per cent of female homicides and 11.3 per cent of the cases of missing women.
- Since 1980 the rate of women who are victims of homicide has trended
down, except the rate for aboriginal women, which has increased, the
report states.
- Officials said there have been 1,181 police-recorded incidents of
aboriginal homicides and unresolved missing women investigations over
the past three decades — a much higher number than previously thought.
- Source: CBC
For those reading from outside Canada (and I realize a lot of my readers are not Canadian), your impression of this country might be shiny and bright. We're all so NICE here in Canada, right? But this country, man, it's got its problems. The United Nations has urged Canada to hold a national inquiry into missing and murdered women. In fact, the UN has offered a lot of criticisms that have been largely ignored by the Canadian government.
Human rights concerns documented in UN Special Rapporteur's report on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples:
-
"distressing socio-economic conditions" and inadequate funding of
health care, housing, education, welfare, and social services for
Indigenous communities;
-
over-representation of Indigenous women and men in the prison system;
-
high rates of violence against Indigenous women and girls;
-
exclusion of Indigenous peoples from effective participation in
decisions that affect their rights, particularly in respect to resource
development;
-
and a federal discourse about taxes and the economy that places
Indigenous peoples "outside, and in opposition to, 'Canadian' interests,
rather than understanding indigenous people to be an integral aspect of
those interests."
The Special Rapporteur also acknowledges historical patterns of
"devastating human rights violations" including the residential school
policy, which the Report notes "continues to cast a long shadow of
despair on indigenous communities."
Source: Amnesty International Canada
That was a bit of a long preamble, wasn't it? I didn't really plan that. Thanks for sticking around to find out about the anthology itself:
In “Don’t You Savage Me,” bestselling author of the Rainbow Award-winning novel The Red Satin Collection has bundled together six lesbian love stories featuring Indigenous characters.
There’s a little something for every taste, from the sticky-sweet romance between a cop and the girl next door in “Cuff Divers” to the intense heat of “Sugar Bush.” Rusidan learns about her girlfriend’s heritage in “Traditional Inuit Throat Singing” while Emma encounters a legend come to life in the historical romance “To Dream of Her True Love’s face.” A group of girls leave Jansey utterly exhausted in the charming bondage story “Knowing the Ropes.” Charm or no charm, Dina can’t resist rodeo rider Leslie Goosemoon in “Leslie Goosemoon Rides Again.”
All royalties earned by the author on sales of “Don’t You Savage Me” will be donated to charitable organizations allied with Indigenous women in Canada.
I have no preference where you purchase from. It's available from lots of retailers. I'm glad for every copy sold. Every little bit helps. And if you're not in the position to purchase, tell your friends--especially those who enjoy lesbian erotic romance (it's not always the biggest seller, unfortunately):
Amazon US:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00L5XLDZ2
Amazon Canada:
http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00L5XLDZ2
Amazon UK:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00L5XLDZ2
Smashwords:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/450362
Me again. Just wanted to add that I've been overwhelmed by the number of copies of "Don't You Savage Me" you wonderful people have purchased. I've noticed a ton of readers from England buying this book, which is not at all what I expected when I released it, but what a happy surprise. Thank you for your support!
Hugs,
Giselle
