"We're Not Safe. Our Women Are Not Safe Anymore. Nobody is Safe."
by Broden Halcrow-Ducharme

The words “We’re not safe. Our women are not safe anymore. Nobody is safe.” were shared by a witness in Reclaiming Power and Place: The Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (2019). Found in Volume 1a, pages 503–504, these words speak to what safety truly means for many Indigenous families, not as an idea but as a lived experience. They remind us that this is not only about violence or fear, but about the deep need to belong, to be seen, and to live with dignity.

Safety should not be complicated. It means being able to move freely, to ask for help, and to be treated with care. For many Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people, that sense of safety has too often been uncertain. The goal is not to live in fear but to build a world where safety is part of everyday life, where everyone can live without worry or threat.

The National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls called this a matter of human security. It explained that safety is more than the absence of harm; it is the presence of belonging, connection, and dignity. True security comes when people are able to live without fear, with access to care, community, and culture.

This report also reminded us that insecurity did not come from within Indigenous families, it came from the systems around them. Colonial laws and institutions often failed to protect Indigenous lives, leaving families to carry the responsibility of safety themselves. But that story does not end there. Across Canada, communities continue to show that safety grows stronger when people work together, listen to one another, and build trust.

Safety is built every day, in families who check in on each other, in youth who learn their teachings, and in leaders who make space for Indigenous voices. It grows through programs that teach cultural safety, through land-based healing, and through the protection of languages and traditions. These are the ways communities rebuild strength and connection.

Real change comes when awareness turns into action, when words become support, and when safety becomes something we create together. The path forward is not only about preventing harm but about ensuring everyone has the right to live with dignity and peace.

True safety is not born from fear. It grows from care, respect, and balance. When those values guide our choices, the words “We’re not safe” can begin to change into something stronger, something lasting.

Based on findings from Reclaiming Power and Place: The Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, Volume 1a (2019), pages 503–504, and related works on Indigenous community safety and healing.