Indigenous Advocate Cathy Petrolo Fights For a New Age of Justice, Healing, and Compassion
Indigenous peoples around the world are still struggling to receive the equal rights and fair treatment they have long been owed. This is no less true in Canada. From unequal access to necessary healthcare, to the disproportionate violence and discrimination toward indigenous people (and women in particular), to housing crises and socio-economic disparity, Canada’s indigenous people suffer a range of social and economic ills, with little recourse for justice.
This is what Cathy Petrolo fights to change.
Inspired by her personal experience fighting injustice in Canadian institutions, and guided by the 8th Fire movement, Caterina Petrolo is an inspiring and steadfast advocate for Indigenous rights. She applies her years of experience as a paralegal and former prosecutor, and the knowledge gained in the University of Alberta’s Indigenous Studies program, to the creation of a new era of understanding, justice, reconciliation, and hope.
The Origin Of Advocacy
Caterina Petrolo, born and raised in Toronto, took her first steps on the path of indigenous advocacy in support of her common-law partner, an Aboriginal man who’d been adopted by a white family as a child. Cathy’s partner had been seeking his Certificate of Status from the government to officially claim his heritage and status, but because he’d been given up for adoption he was forced to overcome countless hurdles—from redirecting his claims to other departments, to burying him in excess paperwork. From 1992 to 2009, he’d found no success.
Cathy stepped in to help, leveraging her legal expertise and dogged determination to get her partner his indigenous status. The struggle continued for over a decade until finally, after hundreds of requests, meetings, met requirements, and disappointments, a final aggressive push brought victory. In 2020, after 28 years of trying, an indigenous Aboriginal man was granted his certificate of status, and finally had the right to participate in his community and culture.
This first brush with the barriers and inequities suffered by indigenous people in Canada would forever change Cathy Petrolo’s focus. Seeing firsthand the mistreatment of Indigenous people, both on and off the reservations, led her to reorient her career path, study at the University of Alberta, and apply herself toward indigenous advocacy. Her experiences and subsequent education would both inspire her, and make grimly clear just how much work needed to be done.
The Challenges And Tribulations To Overcome
The troubles faced by Canada’s indigenous people are long-standing and deeply entrenched in the nation’s institutions and cultural biases, and take many forms. When Cathy Petrolo turned the arc of her life toward indigenous advocacy, she joined the battle to right these many wrongs. Thankfully, she’s not alone, and is proud of her collaboration with the many other advocacy groups and peers that share her mission.
She’s worked to bring awareness to the lack of culturally informed healthcare options in indigenous communities, work driven by what she learned in her Indigenous Studies academic pursuits about the importance of cultural sensitivity in medical contexts. She also leveraged her platform to highlight the crisis of missing and murdered women and girls from indigenous communities, with the goal of promoting protective and supportive new policy changes.
Cathy and other advocates are also working against more broadly structural challenges. Indigenous peoples often suffer from insufficient housing conditions, leading to overcrowding and homelessness. When this is paired with ongoing water advisories due to the lack of clean water in indigenous communities, and systemic gaps in both pay and employment, it’s not hard to see the extent of the compounding health and wellness crisis that runs rampant.
Cathy Petrolo works to resolve these problems, working alongside indigenous groups and other advocacy groups to usher in a new era of health, equity, and justice.
Igniting the 8th Fire
Much of Cathy Petrolo’s work is inspired by a movement rooted in Indigenous teachings that she refers to as “Igniting the 8th Fire”. Originating from a set of Anishinaabe prophecies, the 8th Fire is the fire that heralds a new, unending era of peace, love, and companionship. It’s a crucial turning point, a call for reconciliation and unity built on the resurgence of Indigenous cultural heritage and wisdom.
Cathy highly recommends engaging with the multimedia documentary series 8th Fire, available in book, audiobook, and DVD format, that engages with these ideas. Airing originally in 2012, it explores the history of the Aboriginal people in Canada, as well as their fraught relationship with the Canadian government from before colonization to the modern day. Cathy recommends the series because of the nuanced and detailed educational foundation it provides about the unique traditions and history of Canadian Indigenous people.
Cathy Petrolo states that, “Igniting the 8th Fire advocates for the revitalization of Indigenous cultures and the fostering of respectful relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities. It emphasizes the importance of acknowledging historical injustices, promoting cultural diversity, and working towards a shared vision of a just and sustainable future.”
Cathy, and those who share her conviction, see the 8th Fire as both a vision and a call to action in today’s time, turning it into a collaborative movement. They aim to resolve the lingering traumas of colonization, promote social justice initiatives, and safeguard the environment from further damage and extraction. This vision of an inclusive, diverse, equitable world is the guiding star of Cathy Petrolo’s work.
Advocacy Through Entrepreneurship
Cathy Petrolo’s business is built to serve her advocacy and progress the fight for Indigenous rights in Canada, putting any profit motive to the side. Her business exists to be a platform for the cause as much as it’s a way to assist clients. With her focus on social responsibility, cultural diversity, and positive change, Cathy seeks to combine her expertise and passion with new advancements in technology to drive innovative solutions.
Cathy’s persistence, passion, and consistency are her greatest strengths, and through her advocacy and practice those strengths are a powerful tool for change on behalf of Canada’s Indigenous people. By joining herself to the cause and working alongside other Indigenous advocacy groups and local leaders, Cathy Petrolo works to ignite the 8th Fire and bring about a new and better world.