Beverley Jacobs facts for kids

Beverley K. Jacobs CM (born in 1965) is a Kanienkehaka (Mohawk) leader from the Six Nations of the Grand River Territory. She belongs to the Bear Clan. As a lawyer, she led the Native Women's Association of Canada (NWAC) from 2004 to 2009. She is well-known for helping families of Indigenous women who went missing or were harmed. She also worked to improve how police and the justice system serve Indigenous people. Today, she is a professor at the Faculty of Law, University of Windsor.

Personal Life

Beverley K. Jacobs (Gowehgyuseh) was born in 1965. She is part of the Bear Clan from her mother's side. Her family is from the Mohawk Nation in the Six Nations of the Grand River Territory in Southern Ontario. Her traditional name, Gowehgyuseh, means "She's visiting." Beverley has one daughter, Ashley, and four grandchildren: Nicholas, Tessa, Bryson, and Kenna.

Education

Before becoming a lawyer, Jacobs worked as a legal secretary. This job helped her decide to become a lawyer herself. She studied law while also raising her daughter, Ashley, as a single mother. Sometimes, Ashley, who was eight years old, would even come to class with her mom.

Beverley was the only Indigenous student in her first year at the University of Windsor. She started the First Nations Law Students Society there. This group helped other Indigenous law students. She finished her degree at the University of Windsor in 1994. Later, she earned her Master's degree in Law from the University of Saskatchewan in 2000.

Jacobs also completed a special PhD degree. It combined studies in Law, Sociology, and Aboriginal Health at the University of Calgary.

Career

Bear Clan Consulting

After university, Jacobs started her own company called Bear Clan Consulting. She helps people understand their rights and solve problems. She advises clients on topics like Indigenous women's health issues and other important community matters.

Amnesty International

Her consulting work led to a big project with Amnesty International. In 2004, she wrote a report called Stolen Sisters. This report showed how Indigenous women in Canada faced harm and how law enforcement needed to do more to protect them. The report helped start the Sisters in Spirit movement. This movement worked to get the government, police, and media to pay attention to the many Indigenous women who were missing or harmed.

Native Women's Association of Canada

In 2004, Jacobs became involved in Indigenous politics. She was elected President of the Native Women's Association of Canada (NWAC). She won because of her important work with families of Indigenous women who were missing or harmed. She was re-elected for a second term in 2006.

As president of NWAC, Jacobs helped get $10 million from the government. This money was used to study 500 cases of missing and harmed Indigenous women. It also helped create a national list, a helpline, and public education programs.

Vigils became a key part of the Sisters in Spirit movement. Families of missing and harmed women would gather. They would hold pictures, light candles, or release balloons. This helped them get media attention for their cause. Bridget Tolley suggested this idea to NWAC.

In 2008, Jacobs attended a special meeting. Prime Minister Stephen Harper formally apologized for the harms caused by the residential school system.

Jacobs decided not to run for president again in 2009. Her pregnant cousin went missing in 2008, and her body was found later. The person responsible was caught and punished.

Families of Sisters in Spirit

After Jacobs left NWAC, the government stopped funding the Sisters in Spirit project. They said they would not fund any future projects if NWAC used the name Sisters in Spirit.

But the families who had met through the campaign stayed in touch. They formed online groups and kept holding vigils. In 2012, 163 vigils were held across Canada. These families also started asking for a National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Women. This would be a big investigation to find answers. The government at the time said no. But after a new government was elected in 2015, they quickly announced that an inquiry would happen.

Jacobs continued to work as a lawyer part-time. She also finished her special PhD degree at the University of Calgary. She stayed involved with the Families of Sisters in Spirit movement and kept asking for the national inquiry.

Awards and Honours

• In October 2008, Jacobs was honored by the Canadian Voice of Women for Peace. She was recognized for helping to create a culture of peace in Canada.
• In November 2008, she received the Governor General's Award. This award celebrates people who advance women's equality.
• In May 2010, she received a Circle of Honour Esquao Award.
• On December 1, 2016, she received a Franco-German Prize for Human Rights and the Rule of Law. This award was for her work on human rights issues related to Missing and Murdered Indigenous women and girls in Canada.