MRP - FatimaMawani v7 (1)

Advocacy Coalition Frameworks, Network Theory, and Violence Against Indigenous
Women: How are Formal Networks Mobilized by Indigenous Advocacy Coalitions in the
case of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women in Canada?
Fatima Mawani
Student No. 4139989
Graduate School of Political Studies
University of Ottawa
Supervisors: Louis Simard & Kathryn Trevenen
November 17th
, 2015

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Contents
Abstract.......................................................................................................................................... 5
Acknowledgements...................................................................................................................... 5
Introduction................................................................................................................................... 6
Historical Context......................................................................................................................... 9
Indigenous ‘Beginnings’ in Canadian History ........................................................................... 10
Indigenous Women................................................................................................................... 13
Indigenous Participation and Advocacy in Canada .................................................................. 15
Problematic Framework............................................................................................................. 18
Research Question ................................................................................................................... 19
Theoretical Framework – Advocacy Coalition Framework.................................................... 20
Enhancing the Advocacy Coalition Framework for Marginalized Policy Subsystems............. 25
Biopower and the Disqualification of Bodies to Participate .................................................. 26
Intersectionality...................................................................................................................... 28
Solidarity ................................................................................................................................ 29
So what does our enhanced theoretical framework look like? ............................................. 30
Hypothesis................................................................................................................................. 32
Methods........................................................................................................................................ 33
Approach ................................................................................................................................... 33
Case Study................................................................................................................................... 40
Indigenous Public Inquiries in Canada ..................................................................................... 41
The failure of the Robert Pickton inquiry .................................................................................. 43
The call for a National Inquiry ................................................................................................... 45
Shifts in support for a National Inquiry...................................................................................... 47
Key Reports and Milestones ..................................................................................................... 48
The Federal position on a National Inquiry............................................................................... 49
Analysis........................................................................................................................................ 50
Primary Actors........................................................................................................................... 50
Temporal Advocacy Coalitions ................................................................................................. 53
Discussion................................................................................................................................... 55
Application of an Enhanced Advocacy Coalition Framework................................................... 55
Traditional ACF Considerations ............................................................................................ 55
Biopower and the Mobilization of Marginalized Advocacy Coalitions .................................. 58

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An Enhanced ACF: Informing ACF with Intersectionality and Solidarity............................. 60
The case for EACF................................................................................................................ 61
Limitations ................................................................................................................................. 63
Conclusions................................................................................................................................. 66
Appendix A – Flow Diagram of the Advocacy Coalition Framework ................................... 68
Appendix B – Modes of Coordination of Collective Action ................................................... 69
Appendix C – Squaw, Caddo..................................................................................................... 70
Appendix D – Findings: Table of Primary and Unique Actors by Newspaper Source....... 71
Appendix E: Case Study References....................................................................................... 74
Bibliography................................................................................................................................ 77

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Table 1: Traditional News Sources............................................................................................... 36
Table 2: Indigenous News Sources.............................................................................................. 37
Table 3: Keyword String Selection ............................................................................................... 39
Table 4: Total Number of Relevant Newspaper Articles.............................................................. 40
Table 5: Primary and Secondary Actors by Indigenous and Traditional Newspaper Sources ... 51
Table 6: Level of Agreement of Temporal Advocacy Coalitions in Traditional and Indigenous
Newspaper Sources...................................................................................................................... 54

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Abstract
In this paper, I develop an understanding of Indigenous advocacy coalitions in the Canadian
political arena in specific policy subsystems between 2005 and 2015 within the context of
Sabatier’s (1988) Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF). To do so, I advance considerations
that an enhanced ACF is worth considering when investigating how marginalized advocacy
coalitions operate within the policy subsystems in which they are seeking to influence. In doing
so, it is imperative that we engage feminist notions of intersectionality and solidarity so that
more appropriate fora for community engagement and collaboration in addressing the systemic
problems in the quest to deal with the significant overrepresentation of violence against
Indigenous women in Canada can be identified in the discourse calling for a national inquiry
into the missing and murdered Indigenous women of Canada. A case study using content
analysis of selected coverage within traditional and Indigenous Canadian newspaper was used
to situate network of actors at a pivotal stage in the policy process – the formation of public
opinion. The research led to a map of the Indigenous advocacy coalition within the 10-year time
period and enabled a discussion on the role of discourse and idea formation of public opinion
through the networks formed by media and advocacy groups The research concludes by
highlighting the importance of bringing to light opportunities for decision-makers to consider
alternative approaches to the traditional ACF in examining marginalized advocacy coalitions,
especially as we go forward to address the systemic perpetration of violence against Indigenous
women in Canada.
Acknowledgements
I would like begin by taking this opportunity to thank my research supervisors, Louis Simard and
Kathryn Trevenen who supported me through countless emails and skype as I worked through
my thoughts and arguments. To the Public Administration faculty who built my tool kits piece by
piece, and that remained supportive despite how painful those first drafts might have been. I wish
to acknowledge the Institute of Feminist and Gender Studies that gave me the opportunity to
challenge my thinking in a way that did not judge me. Special thanks to my cohort of Public
Administration students who made the experience not only enjoyable, but manageable. I am
deeply indebted to my family, without whom my time dedicated to ‘smart thoughts’ would have
been much fewer and far between. And maybe finally, I would acknowledge the sugar barons
who helped illustrate so many of the public administration theories with concrete examples and
discussion. My work and life has been greatly enriched these past 16 months from your support,
and I would not be able to present this research today without all of you.

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“Where once it was regarded as a private matter, preventing and redressing violence against
women and girls is at last on the public policy agenda.” (United Nations Women 2015, 10)
Introduction
Advocacy groups rely on networks and advocacy coalitions to maximize the resources
that support shared political interests, and to increase the power of advocacyin influencing the
political decision-making process. Though advocacy coalitions strive to influence decisions,
great power to impact political outcomes is derived from the stage of public opinion formation.
The use of regular communications directed towards the general public, such as through daily
national newspaper media, are able to build a base of popular and political support for one
advocacy coalition over another (Blondiaux & Sintomer 2002, 23). Newspaper coverage of a
particular policy issue and its problem definition (and solutions) also serves as a reflection of the
shape and state of support for each advocacy coalition, be it one of the dominant or marginal
perspectives. The perception of an issue, outlined by coverage by traditional or non-traditional
newspaper sources, can be linked to the state’s response as a form of enabling or constraining
public participation of actors within the policy subsystem (Mehta 2011).
This research is interested in examining the structure of marginalized advocacy groups
with shared political goals and the networks they have built to bring their position forward.
These advocacy coalition networks are comprised of actors that are in the disadvantaged position
of the policy issue under consideration. As opposed to the position of decision-makers and
dominant advocacy coalitions in the policy subsystem, marginalized advocacy coalitions have
different levels and legitimacy of resources that can be mobilized in shaping the policy issue. In
this paper, I develop an understanding of Indigenous advocacy coalitions in the Canadian
political arena in the Indigenous affairs policy subsystems between 2005 and 2015 using
Sabatier’s (1988) Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF) as a theoretical lens. To do so, I

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advance that our understanding of marginalized advocacy coalitions may benefit from enhancing
the traditional ACF theoretical approach with feminist theory in intersectionality and solidarity to
investigate how disadvantaged networks of advocacy groups navigate the policy subsystems in
which they are seeking to influence. In doing so, it is possible to give enough space to
marginalized advocacy groups so that their contributions within the context of the policy
subsystem is acknowledged.
As a graduate student in the School of Political Studies at the University of Ottawa, this
research paper reflects the product of a Major Research Paper (MRP) as part of the requirements
of completing my Masters in Public Administration. I am completing this Masters in
collaboration with the Institute of Feminist and Gender Studies. Though the requirements of this
MRP require an in-depth analysis of an issue within the field of public administration, I have
chosen to apply this research to the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women in Canada
(MMIW). In combination with my previous experience working with female populations within
the field of criminology, I feel that this application is one ripe for a discussion among
complementing fields. I engage feminist notions of solidarity and intersectionality in my analysis
of the traditional AF in the political sciences to argue the need for an enhanced ACF when
examining and applying the public administration of Canada’s public participation processes that
are specific to the needs of marginalized voices.
While Indigenous women represent approximately 4.3% of the overall female population
in Canada in 2011, they represent approximately 16% of female homicide and 11.3% of missing
females in Canada (Royal Canadian Mounted Police 2014). Despite the alarming numbers, the
Canadian government has denied the importance of this issue on the political agenda or conduct

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a national inquiry into the problem1. Former Prime Minister Stephen Harper, in a television
interview with CBC’s Peter Mansbridge in response to if its government had intentions of
pursing a national inquiry responded “Um it, it isn’t really high on our radar, to be honest, Peter”
(CBC News 2014).
Indigenous advocacy groups are pushing to get this issue on the national radar, and are
forming alliances with other Indigenous and non-Indigenous groups to have their voices heard.
With new actors that have been traditionally outside of the Indigenous affairs policy subsystem
that prompt alternative ways for considering ‘success’ within public participation, our traditional
approach to theorizing about ACFs is being challenged. An Enhanced Advocacy Coalition
Framework (EACF) provides us with a new theoretical framework for theorizing marginalized
advocacy coalitions. Questions such as the unique perspective on marginalized advocacy groups
on the factors are important in building an advocacy coalition, the purpose for which the
coalition is being mobilized, how actors understand their own network, and who or what the
advocacy groups themselves considers to be included or excluded from the coalition are just
some of the questions that such a reconceptualization can help us answer. This is necessary in
setting up a more appropriate dialogue for engaging in an examination of the issue of violence
against Indigenous women from the perspective of groups that are challenging the dominant
advocacy coalition(s) within the policy subsystem.
In examining the need for an EACF in a theoretical analysis of marginalized advocacy
networks, this paper seeks to do two things: (1) draw the map of the Indigenous advocacy
network that is in place between 2005 and 2015 using their representation within traditional and
Indigenous newspaper in Canada; and (2) engage in a new conversation between public
1 Canadian government refers to the 41st session of Parliament, led by Conservative Prime Minister
Stephen Harper from June 2, 2011 until August 2, 2015.

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administration and feminist schools to see where there is existing overlap between the two
approaches to marginalized groups in the political sphere and to explore where this discussion
may go in the future.
Historical Context
“Aboriginal peoples see history in reverse from the ‘discovery and settlement’ mentality
of the white population; …their custom of land and water use and sharing are at odds with the
European legal system…; the police and court systems have not seemed their protectors but
rather alien and often oppressive forces; …and their strength of community and extended family
values conflict with the social norms and goals of white Canadians” (Jull 1987, 131-2).
History for Indigenous peoples in Canada is told from the perspective of the colonizers.
When searching for academic literature on the history of Indigenous peoples in Canada,
reflection often occurs at the point where contact between Indigenous and European groups
began. Typically, this defining moment is Colombus’ discovery of the Americas, and the
subsequent fur trade that took place for the next two centuries (King 2013; Brownlie & Korienk
2012). As King (2013) states in his book The Inconvenient Indian, history is not the past, but the
stories we tell about the past (2-3). Though it is beyond the scope of this paper to provide a
comprehensive overview of Indigenous history throughout time in North America, nor their
history in relation with what is now known as Canada, there is an explicit recognition of the
process by which Indigenous peoples suffered oppression and marginalization by European
explorers, European settlers, and eventually Canadian citizens and the Canadian government.
Instead, this historical section provides a brief introduction of the governance and
marginalization of Indigenous peoples in Canada during the period of colonization, with an
emphasis on the consideration of its impact on Indigenous women. The second half of this

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section explores examples of Indigenous advocacy within Canada’s history, which is useful in
establishing a framework for advocacy by Indigenous advocacy groups on the issue of MMIW.
Indigenous ‘Beginnings’ in Canadian History
Throughout the 16th and 17th century and up until the late 18th century, Indigenous people
were subject to oppressive forces and regulation as part of a regime of empire building and
colonial settlement by Europeans (Anaya 2004, 3). Early explorers and settlers had much at stake
for establishing policies and practices with the Indigenous population that were presented as
mutually beneficial, despite obviously unequal power relations (Kelm & Townsend, 2012). In
particular, European explorers and settlers stood to gain financially from exploiting the local
Indigenous knowledge and expertise in fur trading, living in foreign conditions, and protection of
early settlers, while burdening those same populations with colonization, disease, and negative
social structures of racism and patriarchy. Regimes of patriarchy displaced traditional gender
relationships with equality between men and women, leading to centuries of marginalization of
Indigenous women by Canadian society as well as within their own traditional societies (Horn-
Miller 2015).
By the late 18th century, the presence of Indigenous populations was no longer beneficial
to European colonizers. Increasingly, the colonizers viewed the presence of Indigenous people as
a hindrance to creating new Euro-centric settlements. The ‘Indigenous problem’ was the
‘uncivilized’ presence of Indigenous populations that held different world views and norms than
the newly dominant society (King 2013). The colonization of Canada since the beginning in the
16th century has increasing placed inhabitants and “descendants of pre-invasion inhabitants”
under conditions of life that are in strict contrast to their traditional way of life (Anaya 2004, 3).
The world view of Indigenous peoples, with its circular understanding of temporality,

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interconnectedness of individuals, and male/female unity were replaced with Euro-centric views
of linear temporality, individuality, and a male/female binary (Horn-Miller 2015). Traditional
land claims, cultural and social practices, nomadic lifestyle and hunting patterns of Aboriginal
people were inconvenient for the colonizers that wanted to gain and maintain ownership over this
new territory. Governing the behaviour of a population that did not conform to European
standards was inconvenient, costly, and steeped with challenges.
The Dominion of Canada came into existence following the passing of the British North
America Act (BNAA) in 1867 (Department of Justice, 1867)). Up until this point, Canada’s
‘history’ has been more or less concerned with how Canada had come to be. The role of
Indigenous people within this ‘history’ is largely concerned with exploring the role that
colonization played during this period. More importantly, Indigenous policy until the latter half
of the 19th century was rooted in a European-other dichotomy of colonization and of taming the
‘wild savages’ of the newly claimed territories. The BNAA served as the constitutional grounds
for the Province of Canada to develop as a nation-state, and in a sovereign power in governing
(or ‘managing’ if we employ Foucauldian language) all of the population that its borders
encapsulated, including its significant Indigenous population. This shift in governance, though
arguably less explicit in its practices of marginalization of segments of the Canadian population,
is much more pervasive and granted the state significantly more influence in how Indigenous
peoples saw themselves. By 1876, the Province of Canada articulated and legislated its own
Indigenous policy under the title of the Indian Act. This Act would grant the government greater
control over the lives of its Indigenous citizens. Under the Indian Act, Euro-centric values were
formally imposed onto the Indigenous population to replace the traditional values that may have
still been held by Indigenous peoples (Krosenbrink-Gelissen 1993, 209). In addition to

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controlling who could legally claim Aboriginal status, the Indian Act enforced a Euro-Canadian
model of values, family structure and gender roles. Women were removed from Indigenous
political institutions, barred from political decision-making, and were replaced by structures of
male dominance that reinforced the colonial system. The Indian Act functioned as a way to have
Indigenous people self-regulate their behaviour in a way that served the best-interests of the state
instead of themselves.
The Indian Act would retain in its Euro-centric foundational character until 1985 where
Bill C-31 (the Bill to Amend the Indian Act) brought the Indian Act in line with the Canadian
Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Among the changes that received royal ascent in 1985, gender
equality for Aboriginal women and granting of legal status regulations for Aboriginal women
who married a non-Indian, reinstating a more balanced male/female gender dynamic. A few
years earlier, the Constitution Act of 1982 would also begin to recognize the Aboriginals of
Canada as a unique people. Section 252 of the Constitution acknowledged the supremacy of the
rights of Aboriginal peoples, while Section 353 recognized the existing treaties and claims.
Unfortunately, several generations of Canadians, including Aboriginal Canadians, have lived
with the Euro-centric Indian Act. As a consequence, the notions and values contained within it
have been internalized by a large portion of the Canadian population.
The Indian Act was instrumental in enabling a devastating legacy of unequal power
relations between Indigenous people in Canada. Products of this legacy include: the legal
2 25. The guarantee in this Charter of certain rights and freedoms shall not be construed as to abrogate or derogate
from any aboriginal, treaty or other rights or freedoms that pertain to the aboriginal peoples of Canada including
(a) any rights or freedoms that have been recognized by the Royal Proclamation of October 7, 1763; and
(b) any rights or freedoms that now exist by way of land claims agreements or may be so acquired.
(Government of Canada, 1982)
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35. (1) The existing aboriginal and treaty rights of the aboriginal peoples of Canada are hereby recognized and
affirmed. (Government of Canada, 1982)

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definitions of Aboriginal status determined on the basis of legal interpretations (Fiske 2012), the
forced assimilation through a mandatory residential school system (Truth and Reconciliation
Commission of Canada, n.d.), the forced sterilization of Aboriginal women (Stote 2012) and the
systemic unequal provision of services and resources for Indigenous people on and off reserves.
The effect of this segregation was the sanctioning of discrimination, exclusion of Indigenous
people in Canada that continues to be maintained today (Sangster 2012, 302). Shifts towards
acceptance of traditional Indigenous ways of life and understanding have proven difficult in light
of racial and gender hierarchies that are the product of generations of Indigenous policy in
Canada based on ‘civilizing’ the “pesky Redskin” that inhabited what we now know as Canada
(King 2013).
Indigenous Women
Colonization replaced the traditional Indigenous purview of the symbiotic relationship
between men and women in all aspects of society with an unequal gender binary that constructed
women as subordinate (Krosenbrink-Gelissen 1993). To further serve the political, social, and
economic purposes of colonizers and eventually the Canadian state, the dissemination of
stereotypes and negative representations of Indigenous women were used in the process of
‘othering’. This process of ‘othering’ enables the justification of discriminatory and oppressive
practices towards individuals who are seen as invaluable. The image of the Indian princess, or
the Squaw, was one of the primary images that were used to create stereotypes of Indigenous
women that permeated society and placed them on the outside of Canadian mainstream society
(Horn-Miller 2015). This imagery condenses the identity of Indigenous women into a single,
stereotypical category that is not representative on Indigenous women at large. Moreover, it
subjectively places Indigenous women into a category of sexualized ‘other’, Following this

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‘othering’ of Indigenous women, prejudicial attitudes and behaviours, and the use of objective
practices in their surveillance and management, are deemed as justifiable. As a result,
discriminatory practices and violence against Indigenous women have been systematically and
politically normalized in Canada, allowing them to fall into the most vulnerable positions in our
society (Carter 2012, 146; LaRoque 1996, 11).
Though stationed at Fort Still, in the Oklahoma Indian Territory in 1869, Will Soule
recognized the commercial viability of a new style of photography that showcased Indigenous
women during a period of cultural transition (Ringlero & Baker, 2005). Here, the Squaw was
represented as a sexualized ‘other’ that sought to be dominated by the white man (Horn-Miller
2015). Photographs such as Squaw, Caddo place women in traditional Indigenous dress and
settings, but in erotic and hyper-sexualized positions to accentuate her for European
commodification (see Appendix C – Squaw, Caddo). The imagery of the ‘squaw’ allows her
Indigenous identity to be removed from her Indigenous role and context and be given a
sexualized role within Canadian society. This role of sexual objectification became the prevalent
attitude towards Indigenous women across North-American society. Indigenous women were
increasingly perceived as degenerates, prostitutes, transient women who place themselves in
vulnerable positions where they are more likely to be victims of violence or sexual violence. This
learned behaviour produces systemic inequalities in the treatment of Indigenous women, creating
the ethos that they are not valuable and will not be missed if they are subject to violence (Horn-
Miller 2015).
This ‘othering’ of Indigenous women through such images of the squaw cannot be
understood outside of the context of the highly racialized and paternalistic social and political
system in Canada. Despite early unofficial reports of reserve life that recognized that the housing

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and health issues plaguing reserves had little to do with the temperament and culture of
Indigenous peoples, negative images were used to deflect criticisms from government agents and
policies that largely led to conditions of poverty on reserves in Canada (Carter 2012, 150).4
Social acceptance of these stereotypes supported the systematic stigmatization and
marginalization of Indigenous women’s rights, and negative reinforcing policies that increased
their risk of social harm and violence.
Indigenous Participation and Advocacy in Canada
Despite the disadvantages that Indigenous people in Canada face due to systemic
oppression and marginalization at the hands of colonization, Indigenous groups also have a
history of collective action to protect their rights and needs. Indigenous peoples’ have been
primarily concerned with engaging in collective action in the achievement of their rights as
follows: (1) the right to be themselves, (2) the right to be left alone, and (3) the right to
participate on an equal basis with other citizens of the state in areas such as economic and
political life (Brøsted 1987, 155).
The Métis National Assembly, led by Louis Riel, formed in 1869 as a manner of
protecting the Red River Settlement from being sold to the newly formed government of Canada
(Koopmans 2009, 10). Among the concerns of the Métis National Assembly was that Canada’s
gaining of control over the area, without first negotiating with the Métis, would put Métis
language and culture rights at risk. Moreover, it would strip the Métis of their traditional land of
4 For example, European settlers faced strong competition fromneighbouring Indigenous populations in the
agriculture market. Indigenous farmers grew a surplus of crops for sale. Complaints by settlers resulted in the
government to establish policies that regulated farming on reserves that favoured European farmers. Unequal
policies that disadvantaged Indigenous farmers resulted in pockets of rural poverty on under-used reserves (Carter
2012, 149).

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which they could claim no ‘legal’ title under a legal system which had not previously existed in
Indigenous territory. The Red River movement from 1869-1870, an uprising of mostly Métis
farmers and hunters and led by Riel, resulted in the creation of the Métis List of Rights and the
formation of Manitoba. This early demonstration of political action, with Indigenous groups as
the marginalized actors, underscores the ongoing struggle of Indigenous actors as a subordinate
group to achieve political effect against the established dominant political actors.
Indigenous groups have also been successful in establishing their rights as distinct
peoples of Canada in the Constitution of Canada. Following lobbying and pressure on the federal
government by Indigenous groups, the Assembly of First Nations (AFN), the Native Council of
Canada, the Métis National Council and the Inuit Tapirisat of Canada, Indigenous groups were
consulted extensively in the development of section 35 of the Constitution (Krosenbrink-
Gelissen 1993, 214; Gordon 1987, 126). Unfortunately, the Native Women’s Association of
Canada (NWAC) was not permitted to participate in these consultations, arguing that their
inclusion was undemocratic as they only represent women. In addition to recognition of
Indigenous rights in Canada, the rights of Indigenous peoples and their unique vision of
themselves from that of dominant society, are now recognized internationally. This is largely a
result of advocacy and activity, driven predominantly by Indigenous people themselves, over the
last few decades (Anaya 2004).
As Indigenous groups make efforts to increase their participation and advocacy in the
Canadian political sphere, it is increasingly apparent that these groups are not turning to the
government to solve their problems on their behalf, but to grant them the resources and
autonomy necessary to participate in the forming of solutions that face them as a people (Gordon

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1987, 126). As Indigenous peoples, they are looking to preserve and have recognized the rights
which they had originally possessed for generations prior to colonization.
... the history of many indigenous peoples, shows that the indigenous populations
have had great problems in communicating with the nation-state and that they are
frequently excluded from the general processes of decision-making. They have little
influence on various questions concerning their welfare within the administration and
other power bodies of the state. It is difficult for indigenous people to have their demands
and wishes adhered to (Lasko 1987, 78).
While there has been limited success in having Indigenous participation in Canadian politics, the
representation of Indigenous women has been essentially absent from Canadian parliament
(Niemczak & Jutras 2008; Elections Canada 2010).5 This exclusion is problematic on several
levels, not least of which is the ability for Indigenous people and Indigenous women to have
opportunities for influence in the situations that affect them (Lasko 1987, 78).
The representation of Indigenous people within the traditional machinery of the state, or
as participants in the state’s actions is challenging and nuanced. As a sovereign people,
participating can serve to legitimize the rule of the colonizers, while abstention risks having the
voices of Indigenous people overlooked or ignored. Indigenous leaders must take a strategic
stance on the level of conciliation or confrontation they take with the state and there is often
conflicting views within the groups. In reference to the repatriation of the Constitution in 1982,
AFN Regional Chief Roger Augustine refers to having some individuals outside protesting the
Constitution, while others, including powerful and influential leaders were sitting around the
table (Narine 2013). Despite this, Aggamaway Pierre, the former president of NWAC states, “I
believe that all native people, including women, have aboriginal rights in this country no matter
5 Since 1867, only 17 House of Commons members have self-declared as Aboriginal. Moreover, of the 155 women
who have entered the House of Commons, only two have been Inuit, First Nations or Métis: Ethel Dorothy Blondin-
Andrew (member of a First Nation), elected for the first time in 1988, and Nancy Karetak-Lindell (Inuit), elected for
the first time in 1997, both underthe banner of the Liberal Party of Canada (Elections Canada 2010).

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where they live, no matter what distinctive category has been assigned to them” (NWAC, as
cited in Krosenbrink-Gelissen 1993, 205). And while the issue of MMIW has always been
important to Indigenous women, their voices and concerns have gone mostly unheard. In recent
years, media coverage of Indigenous women and their families who have been victims of
violence has increased (Horn-Miller 2015). In the same vein, there may still be countless stories
and voices of victims that are may not be captured within the media. However, the increased
resources of Indigenous advocacy groups to bring attention to the issues facing them is
encouraging.
Problematic Framework
“in order to improve the situation of an indigenous population, it is necessary to create
opportunities for them to influence matters concerning their future” (Lasko 1987, 78).
There have been examples of political pressure by Indigenous groups to participate in
informing political decision-making in the issues that affect them. However, there is evidence
that previous opportunities for public participation of Indigenous groups have failed to
appropriately include their voices. Among others, the Robert Pickton inquiry, conducted in 2013
by the province of British Columbia, failed to incorporate key voices and experiences of
Indigenous groups and Individuals. Disagreements with how the Robert Pickton inquiry was
being led resulted in further elimination of Indigenous voices as several Indigenous and non-
Indigenous groups, including the AFN and NWAC decided to boycott the inquiry.
Though the Robert Pickon inquiry provided an opportunity for Indigenous actors to
participate publicly, its arguable shortcomings raises the important consideration for the need for
a new theoretical framework that can guide our understanding of successful public participation
of groups that have a history of marginalization by the Canadian state, and that are mistrustful of

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contributing to a process that misappropriates their knowledge or further oppresses them. The
question arises that if previous attempts for public participation have been deemed unsuccessful
in the eyes certain groups or individuals, is there more appropriate fora for community
engagement and collaboration in addressing the systemic problems to address the systemic
colonialized perpetration of violence against Indigenous people, and Indigenous women more
specifically, in Canada?
Research Question
This paper seeks to answer the following question: Does an EACF enable researchers to
develop a more appropriate understanding of the perspective of marginalized advocacy coalitions
in seeking opportunities for public participation? By placing Indigenous advocacy coalitions in
the centre of our analysis in the call for a national inquiry into MMIW, can we challenge the
traditional policy subsystem in a way that removes barriers to understanding how marginalized
actors seek to participate?
This paper begins with the hypothesis that an enhanced theoretical framework for
examining marginalized advocacy coalitions is necessary to analyze and make more appropriate
conclusions about the network structure and activities of marginalized advocacy actors and
networks. When examining the theoretical framework for the network of marginalized actors
within the Indigenous affairs policy subsystem, and in particular the advocacy network
representing Indigenous women, the development of an intersectional and gendered EACF is
needed. This also permits the inclusion or exclusion of actors that the traditional ACF
incorporates in its understanding of an advocacy coalition. Such an inclusion or exclusion is
necessitated by the assumption that marginalized advocacy networks may not conform with
traditional Western perspectives in relation to the links and resources that they mobilize. This

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may result in Indigenous advocacy coalitions that have a unique network structure that
incorporates non-traditional actors or entities, or may function in ways that are not adequately
captured by existing network analysis frameworks. For Indigenous advocacy coalitions, in the
case of the MMIW, an enhanced theoretical framework that is informed by feminist notions of
intersectionality and solidarity therefore bears greater consideration.
Theoretical Framework – Advocacy Coalition Framework
The ACF establishes the basic theoretical structure within which the current research will
be situated. This includes providing a set of terms, variables and assumptions that will be held
constant by the author and readers so that there is a common point of reference when examining
the network structure of Aboriginal advocacy groups. In particular, this research is concerned
with Indigenous advocacy groups that have formed implicit or explicit coalitions to challenge the
Canadian federal government’s refusal in conducting a national inquiry into the case of murdered
and missing Aboriginal women in Canada between 2005 and 2015. Guided primarily from key
authors and published works in the area of ACF (Sabatier 1988; Sabatier, Leach, Lubell &
Pelkey 2005; Wieble 2005; Sabatier & Jenkins-Smith 1999; Jenkins-Smith, Norhsteadt, Weible
& Sabatier 2014), this theoretical framework will be established in its traditional framework
prior to incorporating feminist theories of intersectionality and solidarity to develop a more
appropriate model for examining the mobilization of Indigenous advocacy coalition networks
that represent competing political goals from the dominant groups in power in Canadian politics
in the present day.
ACF is an approach to analyze those “wicked” problems facing political processes –
policy change or stagnation in the face of competing goal, technical disputes, and the plurality of
actors involved in the policy process (Sabatier et al. 2005). Bounded by a functional purpose and

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geographic grouping, policy sectors such as Indian affairs can be further broken down into policy
subsystems that are comprised of the numerous actors that have a stake in a particular issue
(Sabatier 1988; Sabatier & Jenkins-Smith 1999; Jenkins-Smith et al. 2014; Sabatier et al. 2005).
These functional and geographic boundaries enable a definition of included and excluded actors
that are influential in decisional outcomes within the policy subsystems. Subsystem actors may
include governments, media, academics and researchers, advocacy groups, etc. that are engaged
within the particular policy sector. Actors possess varying degrees of resources, influence, and
political power and represent a plurality of diverse perspectives.
In analysing the components of a policy subsystem, important elements for reflection are
not limited to its physical and institutional characteristics, but also the belief systems and
political resources held by actors within it (Jenkins-Smith et al. 2014, 189). Actors interact,
influence, and align themselves with others within the policy subsystem based on attributes such
as shared beliefs into advocacy coalitions that function for short or long-term collaborations in
the pursuit of common policy objectives (Sabatier 1988; Sabatier & Jenkins-Smith 1999;
Jenkins-Smith et al. 2014; Levi & Murphy 2006). This arrangement of instrumental networking
recognizes that although actors within a particular advocacy coalition may share core policy
beliefs that fundamentally guide the strategic direction and alignment of the coalition at certain
intersections of time, the stability of advocacy coalition membership is not absolute as actors
seek to achieve their unique secondary (or tertiary, etc.) political goals that differ with the
advocacy coalition at large (Sabatier 1988; Sabatier & Jenkins-Smith 1999). The level of
specificity of political goal increases as an organization identifies its secondary and tertiary
goals, while the primary goal is the broadest and most fundamental objective of the organization.

22
The primacy and order of these political goals can be illustrated through an example. For
instance, the United Nation’s Working Group on Indigenous Populations had a primary goal
stated through its mandate:
(1) [T]o review events relating to the promotion and protection of human rights and
fundamental freedoms of indigenous peoples; and (2) to give particular attention to
changes in international standards relating to the human rights of indigenous peoples
(IWGIA, n.d.).
Following this articulation, the working group identified secondary and tertiary goals to support
this ultimate objective. After outlining the overall approach that would be taken by the
organization to achieve its primary goals, the organization goes on to identify specific actions or
instruments it supports adopting. In the case of the working group, smaller secondary political
goals were achieved through an approach guided on tackling selected themes:
In past sessions the Working Group has examined the themes of: health and indigenous
peoples; indigenous peoples: environment, land and sustainable development; education
and language; indigenous peoples and their relationship to land; and indigenous
children and youth (IWGIA, n.d.).
Tertiary goals are the most specific and in the case of the working group were achieved through
smaller actions and instruments, such as specific meetings.
At the invitation of the Government of Canada, the Expert Seminar on Practical
Experiences Regarding Indigenous Land Rights and Claims was held at Whitehorse,
Canada, in March 1996 (United Nations, 1997).
The ACF provide us with the framework to understand how actors work across the
boundaries of their primary, secondary, and tertiary beliefs to distribute their resources
strategically in ways that allow them to achieve their larger political goals. Mediated through
strategic short or long-term alliances, actors build temporary coalitions that enable them to
transcend political or ideological differences at lower level objectives to achieve shared goals

23
that are of primary importance (Pollyanna 2014). When feasible, both primary and lower-level
beliefs of advocacy coalition members are aligned, and can result in long-lasting political ties.
Advocacy coalitions that develop united platforms which mobilizes their shared beliefs across
differences, in order to challenge (or maintain, in the case of advocacy coalitions that have
previously been successful) the existing policy agenda increase their political power in
challenging the status quo. However, these same actors and the political alliances they build
through a network of advocacy coalitions are limited by these very same beliefs and political
goals. Collaboration and integration of actors are restricted in the fact that organizations exist as
separate identities for the reason that its collaborators envision different outcomes, whether those
differences are vast or minute. By prioritizing flexible forms of political allegiances, Pollyanna
(2014) argues that coalitions can temporarily maintain a sense of collective purpose, despite their
factional differences in beliefs at secondary or tertiary levels – to come together in a fractured
but generally united whole (9). Sethi (2007) highlights the importance in forming alliances and
collaborations between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal groups in tackling social issues, not just
those populations that are ‘immediately’ affected. A social issue may target one segment of
society to be at risk; however, social issues inherently require several interrelated and dependant
goals to be achieved.
Given the varying degrees of diversity and flexibility of political beliefs and objectives,
advocacy coalitions are sites for disputes and negotiation internally as well. The inherent friction
of alternative viewpoints within each advocacy coalition requires that mechanisms for resolving
conflict be possessed or developed in order to survive (Levi & Murphy 2006, 658). Evidence
suggests that despite differences among advocacy coalition members within a policy subsystem,

24
the majority of relationships within a coalition are cooperative whereas relationships with
opposing coalition members are more adversarial (Wieble 2005, 471).
Situating the theoretical framework within Jenkins-Smith et al.’s (2014)
conceptualization of the four proposed conceptual pathways to policy change (see Appendix A -
Flow Diagram of the Advocacy Coalition Framework), this research hypothesizes that granting
greater attention to external subsystem events is the most appropriate pathway to explore the
mobilization of Aboriginal advocacy coalition networks using media in calls for a national
inquiry into MMIW. In particular, the methodology that is proposed for this research undertakes
how this mobilization functions as enabling eventual public participation through changes in
public opinion. External subsystem events as a pathway to policy change rely on enabling
factors, such as heightened media awareness, agenda change, and the redistribution of coalition
resources, to foster favourable conditions for policy change and the potential opportunity for
public participation (Jenkins-Smith et al. 2014, 202). The incorporation of feminist notions of
intersectionality and solidarity in our theoretical framework is seen as a way to increase the
scope of external subsystem events, and to promote a greater understanding of the policy
subsystem that represents how marginalized actors seek to participate in the political process.
Academics within the traditional ACF literature place significant importance on the
influence of shared beliefs in the formation of advocacy coalitions. According to Levi and
Murphy (2006), coalitions are “collaborative means-oriented arrangements that permit distinct
organizational entities to pool resources in order to effect change” (654). These authors suggest
that shared beliefs only play a minor role in the formation of certain partnerships, and that two
other factors must also be examined: (1) the density of resources shared within the network of
actors, and (2) the rigidity of the boundaries that define membership (see Appendix B – Modes of

25
Coordination of Collective Action). Sabatier and Jenkins-Smith (1999) elaborate on how strongly
or weakly coordinated advocacy coalitions dedicate substantially different levels of
organizational resources to joint efforts, resulting in different forms of collective action. The
importance of resources and boundaries bear greater weight as we reflect on the framework
necessary to explore potential partnerships within Indigenous advocacy coalitions, in particular
when considering how marginalized advocacy coalitions may be disciplined or neutralized by
inadequate access to resources by dominant advocacy coalitions, in order to maintain the
hegemonic power balances in political and domestic society. This also points to the need for an
alternative conceptualization of resource distribution among networks, and more fluid
membership boundaries, that an enhanced ACF can provide.
Enhancing the Advocacy Coalition Framework for Marginalized Policy
Subsystems
“The success of autonomous women’s movements in mobilizing for women’s rights critically
depends on the alliances women are able to build with other social justice movements, and with
sympathetic insiders in political parties, parliaments, government bureaucracies, research
institutions and international organizations." (United Nations Women 2015, 17)
The traditional theoretical framework on ACF presented in this paper implies an
understanding of policy subsystems that favour the external environmental and membership
boundaries of dominant advocacy members. This research argues that enhancing the ACF
thorough a lens that incorporates the role of patriarchy and oppression in shaping interactions
and power imbalances is more appropriate to examining how Indigenous advocacy coalitions
operate within the policy subsystem when articulating the need for a national inquiry into
MMIW. In addition to the impact of colonial practices leading to the marginalization of
Indigenous peoples in Canada, Indigenous women face further difficulties when the impact of

26
the patriarchal structure of the traditional political arena is brought into consideration. It is
important to note that an enhancement of our framework cannot simply add gender into the fold.
Instead, this research considers how numerous identity characteristics intersect with each other to
create a diversity of perspectives that unite into a common political purpose. An EACF must
create a theoretical model that respects this diversity while situating the coalition under
consideration in the limited reality in which actors participate in the political arena. To begin, I
apply Foucault’s (1979; 1980) work on power to the management of advocacy coalitions in
participating in the political arena. Next, I weave feminist notions of intersectionality and
solidarity into the traditional ACF as a reframing and boundary building exercise to build an
EACF that is more appropriate for understanding the perspective of marginalized advocacy
coalitions who attempt to participate within the policy subsystem, such as Indigenous affairs.
BiopowerandtheDisqualificationofBodiesto Participate
Foucault’s work on power, though not specific to the marginalization experienced by
women, allows feminist theorists to examine the ways by which women are able to negotiate
power relationships without prioritizing gender above other variables (Mills 1997, 70). In the
context of advocacy coalitions and the political arena, Foucault enables us with an approach to
examine how power relationships are negotiated between dominant and marginalized actors,
given the unequal distribution of resources among advocacy organizations, such as those
representing women or Indigenous people.
Patriarchal societies developed social order through regimes of surveillance imposed on
women to moderate behaviour. This is highly visible in the examination of the historical
exclusion of female bodies from the political arena – an arrangement which continues to be felt
in the present day (Senate of Canada, 2012). Men have succeeded in dominating the political

27
arena, as well as centering its structure on male norms and values. This includes the central
tenants of winners and losers, as well as the supremacy of competition and confrontation over
collaboration (Shvedova 2005, 35). The EACF proposed in this research challenges the
suitability policy subsystems built upon and operating with this traditional patriarchal structure
and understanding of political activity. An EACF argues that such a framework is unlikely to be
suitable for the considerations of advocacy coalitions representing marginalized advocacy groups
and coalitions, including Indigenous actors seeking to challenge the policy subsystem direction
on MMIW.
Foucault differentiates between traditional juridical conceptualizations of power and
disciplinary power, and this differentiation is essential in building our EACF. As opposed to a
juridical conceptualization of power that one can possess over another, disciplinary power is a
force that circulates within society to produce an on-going subjugation of bodies through
continuous and permanent systems of surveillance, creating invisible links of power between
individuals without the need of the authority of a sovereign (Foucault 1979; 1980). Biopower
operates within this notion of disciplinary power through the accumulation of knowledge on
subjugated bodies and populations. Ongoing surveillance enables biopower to characterize,
classify, and hierarchize populations/bodies in relation to one another so that certain
populations/bodies are disqualified on invalidated (Foucault 1980, 88; Foucault 1979, 212). Such
a categorization and disqualification of certain bodies, as a form of “population management”,
neutralizes potential countervailing power(s) to challenge the status quo (Foucault 1979, 208-9;
Spade 2011, 110). In this way, certain bodies are able to reproduce while others are prevented
from doing so, reproducing populations that benefits those in dominant positions of power
throughout society. An EACF acknowledges the role of biopower in the reproduction of certain

28
voices in the political sphere at the expense of marginalized voices. Such an acknowledgement
creates space for consideration of elements that have been discarded from a traditional ACF for
understanding actors within a policy subsystem. Moreover, an EACF allows for the development
of a new framework that respects the diversity of actors within a policy subsystem with varying
levels of resources and legitimacy yielding from a traditional of marginalization and ‘population
management’.
Intersectionality
A one-dimensional approach, such as the impact of gender within ACF, is limited in its
ability to critically analyze the complex and interrelated variables that result in inequality and
power imbalances. To make gender visible as a variable of analysis, it requires that other
variable such as race and gender be ignored (Mohanty 2005, 107). Such a dichotomous analysis
of relationships of power has been challenged by many feminist authors. Feminism increasingly
recognizes that women are not a homogenous group; that no woman is ever only a woman
(Garland-Thomson 2002; Ballington 2005). Framing our consideration of experience at the
intersection of multiple co-existing and interacting identities, such as Indigenous status with
womanhood, brings us closer to a reality where no one is reduced to a single variable. In her
work on victims of violence and media coverage, Gilchrist (2010) reveals the need to refrain
from simply taking an additive approach. It cannot be assumed that any of these categories of
identity can exist separately without interacting, or understood as removed from their historical
and social context (Mohanty 2005 in Lutz et al. 2011).
Coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw (1989), intersectionality argues the need for
“simultaneous and mutually co-constitution of different categories of social differentiation” in
any analysis of experience (Lutz et al 2011, 2). Maintaining that one variable should functions as

29
the primary axis of understanding inequality and oppression, or privileging one lens of analysis
over another, fails to recognize how a web of mutually reinforcing identities is needed to capture
the multiple grounds of inequality and power imbalances that are observed within society
(Havinsky 2007; Code 1993).
Centering EACF within an intersectional understanding is not ground-breaking.
Advocacy coalitions are inherently about bringing groups with different perspectives and
compositions together in a joint effort to reach similar end goals (Strolovitch 2007, 177). The
multiplicity of identities adds to the coalition’s overall understanding of the policy subsystem
and the possibility of alternative understandings of problems and solutions. An EACF guided by
intersectionality also increases our understanding of how actors (marginalized and dominant)
play a role in the larger environment in which policy-making occurs, and the potential catalysts
that can be initiated. In applying the EACF to Indigenous advocacy coalitions concerned with the
issue of MMIW, our approach requires not only an incorporation of the understandings from the
perspective of women and Indigenous peoples, but the range of identity categories that are
included in the potential problem and solutions: class, sexuality, education, physical and mental
health, etc. A key informant in Sethi’s (2007) work on sexual exploitation of Indigenous girls
states, “saying someone is an Aboriginal is like saying someone is a European meaning that there
are many groups, territories, languages etc of Aboriginal peoples” (65). As such, any theoretical
framework that is being applied to the Indigenous affairs policy subsystem must recognize the
number of perspectives for analysis and action in targeting policy solutions as we move forward.
Solidarity
“I don’t believe in charity. I believe in solidarity. Charity is so vertical. It goes from the top
to the bottom. Solidarity is horizontal. It respects the other person. I have a lot to learn from
other people.” – Eduardo Galeano

30
Solidarity emerges from the acknowledgement of complexity of identities and the need
for a theoretical framework that is better suited to an acknowledgement of diversity of
marginalized and dominant actors in policy subsystems. Such an approach includes, rather than
excludes, the diversity of elements that build our identity and incorporates this into our analysis.
Where an intersectional ACF risks fragmenting populations further and further, a theoretical
framework augmented by solidarity provides a coherent approach to unite the range of actors,
with their inherent disagreements, into solidified alliances that use its complexity to enrich our
relationships and actions in the elimination of further oppression. The pluralities of actors are
united into communities of actors who have chosen to work and fight together (Mohanty 2005,
7). Pollyanna (2014) argues that despite differences between actors, solidarity is evidenced
where coalitions are able to form a collective purpose, through the prioritization and the
flexibility of political alliances, as they choose to combine resources in fighting together when it
is politically advantageous for them to do so. Lyshaug (2006) suggests that ‘inclusive political
ties’ allows for the formation of strategic or political relationships for the purpose of eliminating
structural barriers that perpetuate the hierarchy of identity characteristics (78), recognizing that
identifiable differences should not create dichotomies or hierarchies.
So what doesour enhancedtheoretical frameworklooklike?
Within the field of public administration, Sabatier’s (1988) influential work on ACF
provides us with the framework of why advocacy coalition members with shared beliefs may
combine their resources, how they engage in policy subsystems with competing advocacy
coalitions, and the subsequent changes in policy outputs and impacts. However, feminist work on
intersectionality and solidarity add important considerations for navigating the plurality of actors

31
for political gain, bolstering the discussion as to why certain actors or advocacy coalition are
successful in their political objectives where others are not, while remaining consistent with the
fundamental tenants of the traditional ACF approach.. As complex as the traditional framework
is on its own, it lacks the explicit acknowledgement of its ability to be critical of itself. As with
the political arena which has been historically guided by male norms and values in its structural
formation and perpetuation, as well as an underrepresentation of female voices in the actual
decision-making process itself, an enhanced theoretical framework that was born out of such a
political structure cannot claim to be fully representative of advocacy coalitions in the context of
marginalized advocacy groups, including advocacy for issues affecting Indigenous women.
Traditional Western political decision-making is grounded on non-collaborative models, such as
Roberts Rule of Order6 as opposed to decision-making founded on collaborative or consensus-
based approaches (Horn-Miller 2003). An incorporation of intersectional and solidarity-based
understandings in our EACF, though may be subject to some criticism, allows us to formulate a
theoretical framework that at least takes into consideration how groups outside of the traditional
Western mentality, or groups that have been historically marginalized or excluded from our
political analysis, may operate within or alongside the dominant political framework of the time.
Though an EACF may not be consulted for all future considerations of policy systems,
their subsystems and advocacy coalitions within them, there are several examples when such a
theoretical framework is imperative to capture the internal dynamics of the actors. The
Indigenous Peoples Solidarity Movement (Ottawa) (IPSMO) is
6 Robert’s Rules of Order is a parliamentary procedural order for decision-making that enforces strict rules
for the process to present and vote on proposals. These procedures are premised on majority decision-
making and “make no provision for addressing the concerns of those in the minority, also known as the
losers” (Susskind 2006, 352)

32
“a grassroots organization that directly supports indigenous peoples in diverse struggles for
justice…The organization is open to both indigenous and non-indigenous people, and
focuses on local and regional campaigns. As [they] act in solidarity with indigenous people,
[they] build relationships where [they] can learn from indigenous cultures. By doing this,
[they] can further decolonize [themselves], and so learn to better challenge the racist and
colonial ideas that dominate Canadian society (IPSMO n.d., emphasis added).”
IPSMO’s mission statement, which acknowledges the diversity of struggles and
perspectives, as well as the need to be critical of the traditional structures in which the needs of
Indigenous structures are being addressed, supports the argument for an EACF that is further
complicated by layers of intersectionality and solidarity. An acknowledgement of the diversity in
issues for achieving justice, as well as the need to go beyond the ideas grounded in racist and
colonial traditions highlight how unity based on the acknowledgement of our unique experiences
and understandings are needed to achieve a new social order that is based on sustainable
relationships instead of one of dominant-subordinate. In line with Mohanty’s (2005) work
feminism without borders, advocacy coalitions built through intersectionality and solidarity
enable democratic practices based on the representation of diverse beliefs in decision-making to
be achievable, instead of a limited ‘democracy’ based on economic or social location (Mohanty
2005, 4).
Hypothesis
This paper begins with the hypothesis that an EACF that form the theoretical basis for
examining marginalized advocacy coalitions is necessary in analyzing and making conclusions
about their network structure, activities, and mobilization strategy. When examining advocacy
coalitions that exist within the Indigenous affairs policy subsystem and in particular those
advocacy coalitions representing Indigenous women, the use of an EACF is needed. This may
necessitate an inclusion or exclusion of actors that outsiders may not understand as belonging to

33
the advocacy network, due in part to the colonial nature of the marginalization of Indigenous
peoples in Canada, the imposition of Western standards and understandings of Indigenous
understanding and self-governances, and the limited access of Indigenous advocacy networks to
traditional instrumental network links and resources. This may result in Indigenous advocacy
coalitions that have a unique network structure that may incorporate non-traditional actors or
entities, or may function in ways that are not adequately captured by existing network analysis
methods. For Indigenous advocacy coalitions, in the case of MMIW, an EACF informed by
feminist notions of solidarity and intersectionality gives credence to voices that may have been
traditional excluded through the biopower of ‘population management’ as well as the
implications this has on what political participation looks like from the perspective of
marginalized advocacy coalitions. In doing so, this research suggests that we have the ability to
remove barriers in developing our understanding of how marginalized actors have participated
within policy subsystems, and how we can identify more appropriate fora for community
engagement and collaboration in addressing the systemic problems to address the systemic
colonialized perpetration of violence against Indigenous people, and Indigenous women more
specifically.
Methods
“In principle the media… not only accommodates but actively welcomes the articulation of
dissent” (Pollyanna 2014, 1)
Approach
Communication and its analysis, including communication through print media, has been
famously considered by Lasswell (1948) as the answers to the following questions:
Who
Says What

34
In Which Channel
To Whom
With What Effect? (37).
This research was concerned primarily with the question of the ‘who’ at the heart of the question
of communication. As the EACF framework suggests, this research operated on the
understanding that certain voices have been traditionally ignored or excluded from the political
sphere. In selecting an approach to conduct this research, the researcher was aware of time and
resource limitations that excluded the consideration of more in-depth research methods
including: interviews, observations, surveys, or document reviews. Content analysis provided the
ability to conduct systematic research on data for the duration of the case study period from a
single source (i.e. the National Post), and available in a consistent format. Content analysis
provided the researcher an opportunity to gather data on the actors involved in the call for a
national inquiry into MMIW in an unobtrusive, inexpensive and reliable format that could be
supplemented by more resource-intensive methods in subsequent research.
Given the research limitations, a content analysis was selected as the most appropriate
approach. In considering which content to analyze, it was acknowledged that the research could
not solely rely on the emergence of voices of Indigenous advocacy actors through public records,
such as the Hansard House of Commons (HHOC), where marginalized voices without sufficient
resources or legitimacy are often not represented. This prompted the need for the research to
gather data from sources where marginalized actors gather outside of the political discourse, at
which time newspaper sources were selected. As the research team was also limited in the
length of the research report, a content analysis of both newspapers and the HHOC transcripts
was not feasible. The research team justified the exclusion of HHOC transcripts based on the
hypothesis that the most important elements from the transcripts would be reported on within the

35
newspaper media coverage. Newspaper coverage, albeit not a comprehensive collection of views
and actors involved in a policy subsystem, grants greater space for actors who have attempted to
be included in the political sphere but may not have been successful.
Initial literature on the method of participation of Indigenous advocacy coalitions
indicated a strong link with media partners. In the limited scope of this research, the network
map that was drawn was limited to Indigenous advocacy coalitions members, within the
boundaries of information available through the newspaper media sources selected. Other
relevant information that would have increased the complexity and depth of the network map,
such as relationships with newspaper editors, placement within the newspaper to indicate the
level of importance or weight given to the issue, etc were not considered. Furthermore, there are
advocacy coalitions on both side of this debate of calling for a national inquiry. It was beyond
the scope of this research to explore why some advocacy coalition members are on opposite
sides of this debate.
This research relied on a newspaper media analysis approach to uncover the pattern of the
Indigenous advocacy network in the call of a national inquiry into MMIW. Research using
newspaper media analysis is driven by the portrayal of an issue, the advocacy network, which
incorporates how positioning of newspapers framed or failed to frame issues with an
intersectional understanding of violence and Indigenous women. Newspaper analysis provided
an opportunity to monitor communications that operated at a pivotal stage in the policy process –
at the formation of public opinion. Using a subjective content review of all articles that were
pulled up from the search results, actors who were deemed as advocates for a national inquiry
into MMIW were identified. This review of selected coverage of Canadian newspapers on
violence against Indigenous women between 2005-2015 was then used to draw a map of the

36
Indigenous advocacy network that is in place in calling for a national inquiry into MMIWfor the
time period.
In selecting the Canadian newspaper media coverage that would be used for this research,
the researcher relied on the political leaning of Canadian newspaper media as categorized by the
WorldPress.org organization7. This enabled a selection of news media that represented liberal,
centrist, and conservative vantage points.
Liberal Centrist Conservative
Toronto Star, The
The Star's basic aim as a news
organization is to engage in the full
and frank dissemination of news
and opinion, and to do so working
within the highest standards of
journalistic integrity. Our core
mission as defined by Toronto Star
publisher Joseph E. Atkinson is to
focus public attention on injustices
of all kinds and on reforms designed
to correct them.
Globe and Mail, The
In print for 170 years, The Globe
delivers lively and authoritative
coverage of national, international,
business, technology, arts,
entertainment and lifestyle news.
National Post
The National Post features coverage
from across the country and around
the world, delivered with a
distinctly Canadian voice. But it’s
more than just news: it’s an eclectic
package that combines award-
winning reporting with hard-hitting
analysis to take you deep inside the
stories that count.
Toronto-based newspaper with a 2.3
million 6-day readership. The
Toronto Star is widely read across
Ontario (0.4 million 6-day
readership outside of the GTA).
(Toronto Star Media Kit 2013)
1.9 million six-day readership
across Canada.
(Globe and Mail Media Group,
2015)
0.8 million six-day readership
across Canada.
(National Post Media Kit,
2013)
Table 1: Traditional News Sources
Following identification of Canadian newspaper media into the three chosen categories,
further elimination of coverage was established by selecting only those sources with daily
publication. With the exception of the Toronto Star, the selected newspaper media are also
Canada-wide publications with a national audience, though the Toronto Star reaches 440,000
readers outside of the GTA on a six-day readership (Toronto Star Media Kit 2013). The Toronto
7
Worldpress.org is a nonpartisan magazine whose mission is to fosterthe international exchange of perspectives
and information. Worldpress.org provides users with a succinct view of the political and economic climate globally.

37
Star was selected as no national Canadian newspaper was categorized as taking a liberal political
ideology.
In addition to a liberal, centrist and conservative perspective, the research also stood to
gain significantly from incorporating the perspective of a Canadian Indigenous newspaper media
source. There is no available Canadian Indigenous newspaper media source equivalent to those
print media sources that were already selected for this research. Therefore, an online Canadian
Indigenous newspaper was selected.
Indigenous
Windspeaker
Inform. Impact. Inspire... is what we do.
Independent and Indigenous... is who we
are.
140,000 monthly readership across
Canada, of which 84% of readers are
Indigenous
(Windspeaker 2006)
Table 2: Indigenous News Sources
In the selection of Canadian newspaper media content, the following selection criteria
was applied: (1) content must have been originally published between January 1, 2005 and
January 1, 2015; (2) an appropriate search string that yielded sufficient data for analysis; (3)
demonstrate a clear relationship between an individual or group; and (4) support for a call for a
national inquiry into MMIW in the specific newspaper article under consideration.
In conducting this research, the search string “(indigenous OR aboriginal) AND (group
OR advoca* OR coalition) AND (women OR woman OR girl* OR fem*) AND (missing OR
murdered OR violence) AND Canad* AND (national inquiry)” was selected. A second search
string, with the term ‘group’ omitted, yielded significantly fewer results and was deemed
inappropriate in returning an adequate number of newspaper articles for each publication. In
particular, as some articles within the results were not specific to the issue of MMIW, the larger

38
search result string was deemed more appropriate. This search string was successful for the three
traditional newspapers, which were obtained using Canadian Newsstand. Windspeaker was not
available through Canadian Newsstand, and as such EBSCOhost Academic Search Complete
was used. Using the same search string as the traditional newspapers yielded 0 results. Several
search strings were attempted before selecting “(national inquiry) and (advoc* or coalition or
group)”. Though key terms are omitted, the search string was justified given that the newspaper
is already an Indigenous newspaper, and the researcher is able to use her discretion when
deciding if the article is within the scope of MMIW coverage. Searching using the Windspeaker
Google search engine was also attempted, but access to large quantities of articles was severely
limited using this method. The “(indigenous OR aboriginal) AND (advoca* OR coalition) AND
(women OR woman OR girl* OR fem*) AND (missing OR murdered OR violence) AND
Canad* AND (national inquiry)” search string using the Windspeaker google search engine
resulted in the ability to access only 14 articles, of which 11 were duplicates of articles used via
the EBSCOhost Academic Search Complete method.
Search Terms Search Engine # of Results
Toronto Star
(indigenous OR aboriginal) AND (group OR advoca* OR
coalition) AND (women OR woman OR girl* OR fem*) AND
(missing OR murdered OR violence) AND Canad* AND
(national inquiry)
Canadian Newsstand 33
(indigenous OR aboriginal) AND (advoca* OR coalition) AND
(women OR woman OR girl* OR fem*) AND (missing OR
murdered OR violence) AND Canad* AND (national inquiry)
Globe and Mail
(national inquiry)
National Post

39
(national inquiry)
Windspeaker
(national inquiry)
Windspeaker search
engine
2,650
Windspeaker search
engine
113
EBSCOhost Academic
Search Complete
0
(missing or murdered or violence)
EBSCOhost Academic
Search Complete
103
(missing or murdered or violence) AND (national inquiry)
EBSCOhost Academic
Search Complete
9
(national inquiry) and (advoc* or coalition)
EBSCOhost Academic
Search Complete
28
(national inquiry) and (advoc* or coalition or group)
EBSCOhost Academic
Search Complete
59
Table 3: Keyword String Selection
During the data analysis stage, there were some articles contained within the search
results that were not published by one of the four newspaper sources identified. After cleaning up
the data set, the research had a total of n=219 newspaper articles. Articles were read in full to
determine if the article met the scope of the research. Following this, key actors identified and
included in the network map of each newspaper if in the specific article were associated with
taking a stance that supported a national inquiry into MMIW. For example, provincial and
territorial premiers were not initially included as key actors until the Council of the Federations
meeting took make, where provincial and territorial leaders articulated a shift in their support to
other actors requesting that the federal government conduct a national inquiry into the issue.
Despite the search criteria included articles published between January 2005 and January
2015, there were few articles found in any of the newspapers prior to 2012. Those results that
were between 2005-2011 generally were not pertaining to a national inquiry into MMIW. Topics

40
that were covered included: the Ipperwash inquiry, child and family services issues in Manitoba,
mining and forestry issues and Romeo Dallaire. Therefore, the corpus of relevant newspaper
articles that were mobilized in this research was less than the initial search results, as indicated in
Table 4: Total Number of Relevant Newspaper Articles
Total Number of Relevant Newspaper Articles by Source
Toronto Star
Globe and
Mail
National Post Windspeaker
28 103 49 37
Table 4: Total Number of Relevant Newspaper Articles
Although the research is primarily concerned with the perspective of advocacy networks
from the perspective of Indigenous groups, alternative publications are rarely read by anyone
other than those who already subscribe to their political agenda (Landry et al 195 in Pollyanna
2014 65). In selecting liberal, centrist, conservative, and Indigenous newspaper sources, the
researcher believed that an appropriate representation and comparison of networks would be
possible. In this way, it is the aim of the researcher to build a more appropriate representation of
the advocacy network as envisioned by those actors involved in the Indigenous advocacy
network themselves.
Case Study
Using content analysis of newspaper coverage from 2005-2015, the case study was used
to uncover the shape of the Indigenous advocacy coalitions that support the call for a national
inquiry into MMIW. The case study was used to answer the research question: Does an EACF
enable researchers to develop a more appropriate understanding of the perspective of

41
marginalized advocacy coalitions in seeking opportunities for public participation? The case
study was used to place Indigenous advocacy coalitions at the centre of the analysis, in seeking
to understand if it is possible to challenge the traditional policy subsystem in a way that removes
barriers to understanding how marginalized actors seek to participate?
Indigenous Public Inquiries in Canada
As an official review of important public events or issues to identify the facts about it and
to make recommendations to the government, a public inquiry is ordered by the government to
highlight the priority of an issue on the national scale, as well as provide recommendations to the
government (Makarenko 2007; Narine 2012). In Canada, there have been few national inquiries
that have focused on issues specific to addressing the needs of Indigenous groups. The 1977
Berger Inquiry resulted in a recommendation to reject the building of the Mackenzie Valley
pipeline due to unsettled Aboriginal land claims in the region as well as environmental reasons
(Northern Pipeline Agency Canada 2012). As an important precedent, this inquiry gave a voice
to the Indigenous people on whose land the pipeline would affect. A second inquiry, the 1996
Royal Commission on Aboriginal People provided a 4000 page report accounting for the
centrality of the relationship between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people to Canada’s heritage
– a relationship that has been distorted over time with significant negative consequences for
Aboriginal people requiring recommendations and a plan to redress the damages (Aboriginal
Affairs and Northern Development Canada 2010). The success of this inquiry has been called
into question however, given that the 440 recommendations coming out of the report were
largely ignored (Abundance of rhetoric and not enough resolve, Martin 2014).
In 2014, the RCMP released Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women: A National
Operational Overview, an extensive investigation of police-recorded incidents of Indigenous

42
female homicides and unresolved missing persons cases. This report revealed that 1,181 such
cases existed between 1980 and 2012, of which there were 1,017 victims of homicide and a
further 164 missing. These numbers far exceeded estimates by NWAC or other previous public
estimates, and supports the need of the marginalized Indigenous advocacy coalition that is
calling for a national inquiry into MMIW8.
Though the years selected for this case study encompass only a portion of the period of
the RCMP report(2005-2015) , the National Operational Overview report reveals a portion of the
history of this national crisis stemming back from the period of colonization, as a long-standing
issue facing Indigenous women who have historically faced a greater risk of violence. There
have been other attempts over the years by Indigenous advocacy groups to bring this issue to the
provincial or national spotlight, including the murder and disappearances of dozens of women
along British Columbia’s ‘Highway of Tears’ between 1970 to 2011. The most recent catalyst
for Indigenous groups was the arrest, trial, and national inquiry centered on serial-killer Robert
Pickton. Charged with the murders of 26 women, the majority of whom were Indigenous sex-
workers from Vancouver’s Downtown East Side with substance abuse issues resulted in a
provincial inquiry led by Commissioner Wally Opal. The mandate of the inquiry, looking at
events between 1997 and 2002, was concerned with investigating “concerns that the Vancouver
Police Department and the RCMP failed to take dozens of missing women cases seriously, and
were lackadaisical in their investigation of Robert Pickton” (Inquiry beset by ‘sexisim’,
Hutchinson 2012b). The historic effects of racialization of Indigenous women, such as the use of
‘squaw’ imagery that fueled lasting stereotypes that normalized violence against Indigenous
women, contributed to negative conditions that placed them in a position of vulnerability and
8 Previous numbers from NWAC estimated this number to be approximately 600 women (Nahwegahbow,
2014).

43
neglect. Indigenous sex-workers from Vacouver’s Downtown East Side, among others,
nomadically occupy precarious positioning in society, face a history of homelessness, poverty,
violence, and other social issues, leaving their disappearances as non-priorities to authorities. It is
within this context that Indigenous advocacy groups have gained recent momentum in bringing
the issue to the forefront of the public eye. The failures of the Robert Pickton inquiry resulted in
boycotts by numerous Indigenous and non-Indigenous groups, who instead began working to
create a national discussion on the need to investigate this issue nationally, starting with a
national inquiring into MMIW.
The failure of the Robert Pickton inquiry
The current case study begins with the Globe and Mail’s June 26, 2009 coverage of the
B.C. Court of Appeal’s upholding of the conviction of six second-degree murder charges against
Robert Pickton which led to the Robert Pickton inquiry of (Pickton loses appeal, as families lose
hope for second trial, Matas & Anupreet 2009). The Toronto Star coverage has a portion of its
first article that touches on the international pressure on Canada to ‘respond to the severity’
towards the ‘scale and character of violence against Indigenous women’ with a national strategy,
published four months prior to this piece. However, the Toronto Star’s first explicit publication
is the next article in the data set, published almost three full years later. ‘Without a Trace’ reports
on the inadequate response and investigations into Indigenous deaths and disappearances in
Canada, and the potential for the United Nations to investigate the issue in greater depth
(Without a trace, Talaga 2012). Coverage by the National Post begins on September 10, 2010
with the calls by social and Indigenous groups to participate in an inquiry into the Robert Pickton
case (B.C. to probe police investigation of pickton, Shaw 2010). The National Post also

44
introduces groups such as Amnesty International, Canada the B.C. Civil Liberties Association
pulling out of the same Robert Pickton inquiry shortly after the inquiry was underway.
“Some aboriginal and women's groups … claim the inquiry has slid off the rails, that it's
a sham, because they have been denied funding and therefore cannot hire lawyers to
represent them during the process” (Prime suspect; police didn’t act on pickton’s offer to
search farm, Hutchinson 2011)
"This denial of resources denies due process and denies the possibility of meaningful
participation by the women most affected - particularly aboriginal women living and
working in extreme poverty - by the deaths and disappearances of women who were their
friends and family," the coalition of community groups said in an open letter to Ms.
Clark, released to the media (Voices missing from inquiry, women say, Matas 2011).
Contrary to the hypothesis that Indigenous news sources would have led the distribution
of ideas on the issue leading to the call for, and sustained discussion on, a call for a national
inquiry into the issue of MMIW, the first news article from Windspeaker within the research data
is not until November 2011, citing the lack of transparency or funding by community and
Indigenous resource groups, prompting several groups to back out of participating in the Pickton
inquiry.
“The current uneven configuration of the inquiry seriously limits, if not eliminates, the
potential of the inquiry to achieve this most basic interest,” she concluded. ‘In our view,
this public inquiry has unraveled to the point where it is nothing more or nothing less
than a complete whitewash,’ [Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, president of the Union of BC
Indian Chiefs]” (Leader denounces inquiry as a ‘whitewash’, Lewis 2011).
Moreover, coverage of the limitations of the Robert Pickon inquiry and subsequent need for a
national inquiry is not unique to Indigenous news sources, as tradititional coverage also
references these shortcomings. In fact, the National Post coverage provides the most
comprehensive coverage of the Robert Pickton inquiry, dealing with some of the key challenges

45
that were faced: funding issues, delays in calling witnesses for non-government groups and the
resignation of counsel.
"The delay in calling aboriginal witnesses, the failure to provide adequate hearing time,
the ongoing lack of support from the aboriginal community and the disproportionate
focus on police evidence have led me to conclude that aboriginal interests have not and
will not be adequately represented in these proceedings," Ms. Gervais told the
commission. "As I leave this inquiry, I regret that I could not find a way to bring the
voices of the missing and murdered aboriginal women into this room" (Hutchinson
2012b).
Robyn Gervais, the lawyer asked to represent Indigenous interests in the inquiry, was
only one voice of many who withdrew their participation from the Robert Pickton inquiry.
Problems appeared before hearings began in October, months behind schedule. Critics
called the inquiry inadequate and compromised. It has been protested and shunned by
aboriginals and First Nations groups. Mr. Oppal's appointment as commissioner has
been criticized. The province's decision to not directly fund more parties, including
families of the victims, has been slammed. (Too little, too late?; time is running out for
the pickton inquiry, Hutchinson 2012a)
The call for a National Inquiry
The AFN and NWAC have been the most prominent and consistent advocates for a national
inquiry, though other actors have also joined in this call for action.
“The meeting comes amid increasing pressure from the Assembly of First Nations and
other groups for an inquiry into the estimated 600 aboriginal women who have
disappeared or been killed over the past two decades.
…
The federal government has rejected the demand and said it has worked to address the
issue by funding new initiatives such as a database that allows police forces across the
country to share information on cases.
The provinces have appeared lukewarm to the idea as well. The premiers did not endorse
an inquiry at their annual meeting in June, which included a meeting with Mr. Atleo. The
provinces have said there are already initiatives under way in different parts of the
country, including the British Columbia inquiry into the deaths of women in Vancouver's
downtown east side.

46
But aboriginal groups say only a national inquiry can address what has prompted native
women across the country to end up facing violent deaths. They have been supported by
the federal New [Democratic] Party” (Ministers to discuss missing, murdered aboriginal
women, Lambert 2012).
“The rally unveiled a petition from the Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC),
which has been endorsed by Amnesty International, and “support(s) holding a national
inquiry into missing and murdered Aboriginal women and girls in Canada.” The petition
also calls for Aboriginal women to be consulted in the “design, decision-making, process
and implementation of this inquiry” (National inquiry on murdered and missing love
overdue, Narine 2012).
“The Oppal inquiry did not focus specifically on Aboriginal women and girls, and the
multiple factors which cause the epidemic of extreme violence against them. Because of
this limitation, we need a national public inquiry that is focused on the murders and
disappearances of Aboriginal women and girls in every part of Canada, which will deal
with the systemic patterns and causes of the violence” [Michèle Audette, president of the
Native Women’s Association of Canada] (‘Colossal failure’ by police left Pickton free to
kill, Ball 2013a).
As opposed to the Robert Pickton inquiry, the call for a national inquiry which forms the basis of
this case study is interested in examining:
“1) how police investigate missing persons and homicide cases and; 2) the effect poverty
and socio-economic factors have on aboriginal women” (Too many aboriginal women
have died. it’s time for action, Picard 2012).
Though the Robert Pickton inquiry was proclaimed as a ‘colossal failure’ by many
groups (Ball 2013a), it appears in the case study to have acted as a catalyst for a number of
groups to support a form coalitions that come together in support for a national inquiry into
MMIW that will address the issues that failed to be addressed during the Robert Pickton inquiry.
“A coalition of interested groups have rejected pleas to rejoin BC’s missing women
inquiry, saying they will instead focus on a United Nations investigation and proposed
royal commission into the circumstances surrounding Canada’s nearly 600 murdered or

47
missing Aboriginal women. … one positive outcome is the coalition of human rights,
Native, women’s and civil liberties groups which has emerged” (Inquiry’s failure
succeeds in pulling together groups, Ball 2012).
Shifts in support for a National Inquiry
Despite a condensed time period of relevant data (2011-2015), the case study
demonstrates shifting positions of Canada’s provincial and territorial premiers in urging a
national inquiry at the federal level. Key milestones where this shift is demonstrated is: (1) prior
to the 2013 Council of the Federation meeting,(2) the 2013 Council of the Federation meeting on
July 24-26, 2013, and (3) the time period leading up to the National roundtable on missing,
murdered Aboriginal women on February 26-27, 2014.
“At least the provinces and territories had the courage to try, but, disappointingly, their
conclusion was that they need more discussion and they won't make a decision until at
least 2014” (Picard 2012). [Prior to the 2013 Council of the Federation meeting]
“At the Council of the Federation meeting this week, Canada's premiers added their
voices to the chorus calling for the inquiry. Within 24 hours, the Harper government had
yet again dismissed the idea” (Time for a public inquiry, Toronto Star (no author) 2013).
[Directly following the 2013 Council of the Federation meeting]
“Rather than a full-blown inquiry staffed by armies of lawyers and researchers, the
premiers are now gravitating to a compromise idea - a national roundtable proposed by
the Native Women's Association of Canada. A less freighted roundtable would bring key
federal ministers (if not the PM himself) together with aboriginal organizations, police
chiefs and others who could work out a plan of action, without retracing past steps”
(Martin 2014). [Lead-up to the National Roundtable on missing, murdered Aboriginal
women]
Support and pressure on the federal government by provincial and territorial leaders is echoed by
the federal opposition parties, with strong positions by both the Liberal Party and New
Democratic Party (NDP) in calling for a national inquiry.

48
NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair said in a news conference in Ottawa that Mr. Harper's
approach to Canada's murdered and missing aboriginal women … was ‘callous’ and
‘cold’. He vowed that the NDP would launch an inquiry into the issue within 100 days of
being elected. (Premiers call for missing-women forum, Taber & Kathryn 2014).
"I think… that's what the government's got to figure out: that we will not get to the
bottom of this - in root causes, in sexism, in racism, in policing, in all of the things that
can stop this epidemic - without a national public inquiry" [Liberal MP Carolyn Bennett]
(Advocate for missing native women to run for liberals, Galloway 2014b).
Key Reports and Milestones
Another important milestone at the federal level, which was mentioned briefly within the
traditional newspaper sources and more in-depth in Indigenous newspaper sources, was the
perceived failure of a Special Committee on Violence Against Aboriginal Women by Indigenous
groups. This special committee, which was in place from February 2013 until it tabled its final
report in March 2014, came out with 16 recommendations. However, the report did not
recommend a national inquiry into the issue. Indigenous groups had been hopeful initially, but
several factors, including the delay in calling witnesses forward, prompted groups to join
together to strategize a new approach.
“Representatives from AFN and NWAC were joined less than a week after the special
committee’s report was tabled by representatives from the Congress of Aboriginal
People, the Metis National Council, and National Association of Friendship Centres to
discuss strategy” (Families disappointed in missing/murdered women report, Narine
2014).
“A parliamentary report on murdered and missing aboriginal women that does not
recommend a national public inquiry ignores the pleas of the families who have lost
mothers, sisters and daughters… [T]he National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations
… said that the leadership of the Native Women's Association of Canada (NWAC), the
Metis National Council and the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami will meet Monday to discuss the
next steps in their effort to convince the Conservative government that a inquiry is the

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