Petition seeks to reverse inmate beadwork sales policy

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This article was published 23/06/2023 (846 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

One month after a new beadwork program ushered into the Women’s Correctional Centre took away the ability for Indigenous women incarcerated there to earn money selling their crafts, some say the province hasn’t kept its promises.

Previously, those incarcerated at the Headingley facility were able to mail out earrings and beadwork they made at any time. The items could be then sold through a third party, with some using the funds to support family members or purchase items to use while incarcerated or save for upon their release.

Last month, the province confirmed the practice would no longer be allowed. Instead, an official program managed by the facility was put in place that expanded access, but limited distribution.

“Beadwork will remain the personal property of inmates and will be allowed to be sent outside of WCC at designated times, such as Mother’s Day, Christmas, birthdays, etc.,” a provincial spokesperson said in an email.

A petition against the policy has garnered more than 3,000 signatures since it started Wednesday, sparked in part by a former seller of beadwork from women at WCC saying the province has reneged on its statement.

“The girls were not able to give their beadwork and send it out for Father’s Day (June 18). I don’t know what the difference between Mother’s Day and Father’s Day is, but Father’s Day was not a special occasion,” Sandra Burling, co-founder of Women Helping Women Beadwork, said Friday.

“One girl had a dream catcher for her grandpa — nope, wasn’t able to send it out.”

The petition was started by Charlotte Poitras, a beadwork customer, after Burling shared the information with her.

“This is more than just a small-scale issue, it’s something that demands immediate attention and resolution,” she said in an email. “We need to recognize the bigger picture and work together to make things right.

“These women deserve a second chance for a brighter future.”

Burling, who sells beadwork made by inmates across Western Canada as a third party, hasn’t been able to sell pieces from WCC since the change.

She has kept in contact with inmates who say they have been treated unfairly, including claims made last week some had finished beadwork pieces confiscated until they are released.

“That’s what beadwork is now in the jail, contraband,” Burling said.

NDP MLA Nahanni Fontaine said she has heard the same concerns through an informal group of women who provide support to those incarcerated at WCC.

Fontaine brought up the issue at the Manitoba legislature last month, and said she met with Justice Minister Kelvin Goertzen on more than one occasion to discuss it.

“To be honest, it didn’t seem to make an impact on him or any of the policy that was enacted,” she said.

A provincial spokesman called out “problematic behaviour” from inmates Friday.

“We are not aware of any requests to send beading out for Father’s Day, but there were instances of inmates asking someone else to carry out their work for them when they were released,” he said in an email.

“This is part of the problematic behaviour that the new system is trying to curtail, while allowing participants to focus on the cultural importance and therapeutic value of the act of beading, rather than as a money-making enterprise.”

If there were issues with the old system, the WCC should have consulted with the women incarcerated before abruptly pulling such a crucial service, Fontaine said.

“I don’t disabuse that there’s maybe some concern… But instead of just punitively taking it away, and constructing it in such a negative way and creating harm, why not… actually meet with the women? Why not actually do a plan of action with the women?” she said.

Burling fears those incarcerated will face retaliation after the petition gains public attention, and without the extra money, more women will leave the WCC especially vulnerable.

“You walk in with nothing, you leave with nothing, no resources,” she said. “I just don’t understand it.”

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca