Valyncia Sparvier

Grade six public speaking competitions often involve topics like fitness, music, phys-ed, or the second overall winning speech this year - chocolate. But when 11 year old Valencyia Sparvier chose her topic, she was thinking about her cousin Danita BigEagle, missing since 2007, and Tamra Keepness from her home reserve of Whitebear, missing from Regina for a decade since age 5. About the time a man in a red truck was trying to lure her into his vehicle at a city park. About how much she loves her mother, grandmother, aunties, and little cousins. And so she carefully researched and went forward from her class with her topic: missing and murdered Indigenous females.

“She did the research on her own - I helped her write it on cue cards - and she placed first in the whole school,” notes mother Brandy-Lee Maxie, who adds the teacher was a bit surprised at the topic initially. “I posted a video and people have been really responsive, including a CBC article. I talked about it and did a paper in university - it’s something we discuss at home - we’ve had situations where we’re walking through north-central in Regina and a car will follow and we have to explain why that’s a danger - we need to have heavy conversations around safety.”

Eventually at school Valyncia saw some of the online comments - hateful, ignorant, racist, apathetic, or dismissive - which her dad was concerned about, but maybe those responses illustrate why this problem continues to be a problem.

“She has common sense to solutions - everyone should stick up for each other and watch out for one another,” notes her mother, which sounds like a pretty reasonable solution to the problem online and on the streets. “I’m very proud of her - it is a hard subject to discuss.”

After her CBC interview the teacher was asked if the topic had come up in the classroom and replied cultural topics were included but not this kind of discussion, and now kids are asking questions.

“All of the girls in his class are First Nations so that’s something they should be discussing,” Brandy noted. “A lot of them are starting to hit the pre-teens, and as teenagers, they should know how to keep each other safe.”

“I chose the topic because it is kind of a big issue in Canada - and I think I can relate to that because I’m getting into the age where I am the target,” noted Valyncia, relaying some of her own stories including the red truck. “My teachers were kind of surprised that I picked that topic on my own...but my mom has never tried to hide anything - I want to warn Indigenous girls what might happen in their future if they don’t be safe and look out for each other.”

She wants to keep others safe, and she wants it to stop happening.

“There’s been a lot of reports of missing and murdered Indigenous women and I’m sick of them - there’s new reports every day and I’m sick of that,” she noted. “And when I read some of those comments - I was surprised at all of those comments - I don’t really acknowledge them, those aren’t the people I know.”

A young woman’s optimism helps us all see the potential for positive change. She has bright hopes for her future and the future of other Indigenous girls and women in speaking change into existence. She admits to being nervous about public speaking at first but has since presented all the way through the competition but also to workshops, media follow-up, and an invitation to a roundtable discussion.

“With 1200 cases there are 225 unsolved. That’s crazy. I kind of want to make a change to that. I want the kids to acknowledge it. I want Stephen Harper to acknowledge what I have to say - he just says it’s not high on his radar - he doesn’t really care about my life or the ones I love.”

She adds that “people are kind of wrong about all those cases they are blaming on Aboriginal men” as the percentage of solved cases don’t generally back that statement up: even though Aboriginal men are important and can be involved in both problems and solutions, they are at risk too.

So what would she say to Stephen Harper’s daughter? She would ask her to think about her own relatives being at risk, and encourage her to use her voice too. Women and children should be seen, heard, valued, and respected.

“I would tell her that this is a big issue - that I have a lot of beautiful cousins and that’s why I’m really looking into this and trying to get this going out there - I have a beautiful grandmother, mother, cousins, and aunties I want them all to be safe - and I want to get this out there.”