EVENING WOMAN, WESTWIND (formally Vivian Young), born March 22, 1955 in a little mud shack at Fishing Lake First Nation, Treaty 4 Territory, Saskatchewan – November 17, 2021 at Toronto, Ontario, Westwind passed suddenly and unexpectedly, yet peacefully, in her home from natural causes. She was a Bear Clan Woman and proud member of the Anishinaabe Nation, the eldest of seven siblings, mother of two and grandmother of two - respect to her late grandson Neebin Armstrong who she deeply loved, adored, and missed.
She was a first and second-hand survivor of Indian Residential School and the Sixties Scoop, and in her 66 years she fiercely fought and defeated every trauma imaginable. Fighting was her second nature, and as a warrior woman she fought for our Indigenous people and the ones whose voices could not be heard. As a writer, Westwind is on a mission to promote awareness of issues around justice for Indigenous people through the art of story-telling.
No matter the unimaginable pain, she ventured forward, writing a mastery of quips along the way. She could invoke our tears and touch our hearts and spirits through her writing, and her piercing ability to expose the humanity in us all was striking and merciless. In every story she shared, she kept us all hanging on every single word, and her power and gift of story will live with us all forever.
Starting in the early 80s, through her university studies, professional career, and volunteer community activism/service, she joined the Indigenous women’s movement. For over 30 years, she dedicated herself to the cause of justice for Indigenous women, working in the areas of legislation and policy, consultation and negotiation, organizational management and operation and program development through her affiliations with grassroots and national advocacy groups throughout Canada.
She was also a master artisan in Indigenous beadwork and created collections around the common Indigenous experience. Last but not least, Westwind shared with and taught women, youth, IRS Survivors, and others, Indigenous knowledge she gathered during a lifetime of working with Indigenous Elders and Medicine people.
Westwind cared about family, kinship, and community above all else, and she would have wanted to welcome the community at-large to her Anishinaabe Passing Ceremony at Rosar-Morrison Funeral Home in Toronto on Saturday, November27, 2021 from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM (with Celebration of Life Feast to follow offsite).
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