"What you risk reveals what you value." Jeanette Winterson

Women’s Memorial March of Manitoba: MMIWG2S & the We Care Quilt

February 14, 2017

The We Care Quilt has been an ongoing project since 2015. It has brought many people together over the years. As always, it is a pleasure to work with dedicated students who hold a vision of social justice.  As IWGS director, I worked closely with students Christina Hajjar, Erin Meagan Schwartz, and Marieke Gruwel. We collaborated with the Manitoba Crafts Museum and Library and the We Care Campaign MMIW. The We Care Quilt shows care and concern for the issue of violence against Indigenous women, girls, and two-spirit people. It has been permanently installed at the Hive in UWinnipeg and will be unveiled tomorrow at the annual Women’s Memorial March of Manitoba. Please support this event by attending the march &/or the feast and speakers portion of the evening.

Women’s Memorial March of Manitoba:
Honouring MMIWG2S & Unveiling the We Care Quilt.

5:30pm Gathering butterflies
6:00pm (sharp!) March
6:30pm Feast & Speakers

Location: Riddell Hall (first floor cafeteria at UWinnipeg by Spence St. entrance).

MC: Sadie Phoenix Lavoie
Speakers: Leah Gazan, Alaya McIvor, Sue Caribou, Bernadette Smith, & Tasha Spillett.

Free & all are welcome! There will be plenty of food.
ASL provided. Physically accessible. Gender-inclusive washrooms nearby.

About the We Care Quilt:
The We Care Quilt will be unveiled at the end of the march in its permanent home outside the Hive on campus!

The We Care quilt (2015-16) is a community made quilt engaging Indigenous and non-Indigenous people to take a stance against violence against Indigenous women, girls, and two-spirit people. Individuals were able to make manifestations of their care by crafting a We Care Square.

The project was facilitated by the University of Winnipeg’s Institute for Women’s and Gender Studies (Roewan Crowe, Christina Hajjar, & Erin Schwartz), the Manitoba Crafts Museum and Library (Marieke Gruwel & Andrea Reichert) and the We Care Campaign MMIW (Leah Gazan & Raine Hamilton). It was assembled and hand-quilted by Tracy Popp & Judy Stewart.

During the making of the quilt we held a couple craft sessions and a round table discussion. After it was completed the quilt attended Take Back the Night in Fall 2015 and Sarasvàti Productions’ International Women’s Week Cabaret of Monologues: Stolen Sisters in Spring 2016.

The quilt is now being permanently installed outside the Hive at UW to continue engaging campus and community members through this collective work of craftivism.

This event is co-organized by IWGS, the Manitoba Crafts Museum & Library, the We Care Campaign MMIW, UWSA, and the Women’s Memorial March of Manitoba.