Posted on

No more stolen sisters

Vigils were held across the nation, last Thursday, in memory of our stolen sisters. In more than 163 locations, Canadians gathered to remember the countless aboriginal women and girls who have been murdered or who are missing.

Girls like Maisy Odjick, 16, and Shannon Alexander, 17, who disappeared in 2008 from Maniwaki, Quebec. Young women like Terrie Ann Dauphinais, 24, who was murdered in her home outside Calgary in April 2002.

Those are just a few names; the Native Women’s Association of Canada has over 500 more confirmed cases. The numbers are astonishing and speak to the severe impact on aboriginal communities.

In Ottawa, victims’ families, activists and allies gathered on Parliament Hill to renew their demand for a national inquiry into this important issue.

Jennifer Lord of the Native Women’s Association of Canada says the vigils are about more than just shaming the government and demanding change; they’re about keeping the issue in our thoughts.

“We all have a role to play,” said Lord.

The Native Women’s Association of Canada is asking its allies to widely circulate their petition calling on the government to hold a national inquiry into missing and murdered aboriginal women.

“I plead with our union sisters and brothers to make a renewed commitment to push for a national inquiry,” said Viola Thomas, the Union of National Employees’ National Equity Representative for Aboriginal People.

Thomas called for our union members to bring the issue back to their communities and to their Locals.

“Historically, it’s that collective energy between all Canadians that can make a difference,” she added.

“If all our Locals aren’t standing beside our indigenous sisters and fighting this issue, we will be coming back here for the next 20 years demanding a national inquiry.”

The Native Women’s Association of Canada is counting on our collective action to get Parliament to act. “The families have been asking for it and Aboriginal leaders have listened. And thankfully, MPs are listening too,” said Lord, who added that the Native Women’s Association fully supports Liberal MP Carolyn Bennett’s bill for national inquiry.

Click here to download the petition. Get your families, friends and colleagues to sign it. Be sure to return it to the Native Women’s Association of Canada as soon as possible. To see pictures of last Thursday’s vigil, click here.

Posted on

A guest of honour

A guest of honour

On the eve of the annual vigil for missing and murdered native women, Susan Martin promised to bring a guest of honour to the event. Yesterday, she stood on the steps of Parliament Hill, holding her daughter’s urn.

Martin is a member of Families of Sisters in Spirit, a grassroots organization led by families of missing and murdered Aboriginal women.

“Today will be the last time I ever get to touch my child’s remains,” she told the group gathered yesterday for the sixth annual vigil to demand justice for their stolen loved ones.

Nine years ago, Martin’s 24-year-old daughter, Terrie Ann Dauphinais, was murdered in her home in Calgary. Her case remains unsolved.

Through Families of Sisters in Spirit, and the annual vigils they hold, Martin began to talk publicly about her daughter. This year, Martin invited supporters to a sacred ceremony on Victoria Island, where Algonquin elder Annie Smith-St-Georges of Kitigan Zibi First Nations would prepare the urn for burial by sealing it in a cedar box.

“I represent the victims, the mothers that don’t have their voice yet,” said Martin. “It’s not an easy task, so I do that for all of us because we are a family.”

Families of Sisters in Spirit has identified more than 500 aboriginal women who are missing or have been murdered. A 2009 report by Statistics Canada found that aboriginal women are almost three times more likely than non-Aboriginal women to report being a victim of a violent crime. Like others touched by these tragedies, Martin feels the federal government should be doing more.

“I get very angry when I see a new family member because they should not be going through what we’re going through – and we seem to be falling on deaf ears.”

Martin and other members of the group met with members of Parliament on Monday to speak about her experience.

“When [MPs] meet the families, they don’t forget them,” said Jennifer Lord of the Native Women’s Association of Canada. “And then that’s a connection that the families can hold on to.”

However, no one from the governing Conservatives showed up at the meeting, said Kristen Gilchrist, a volunteer for Families of Sisters in Spirit.

Irkar Beljaars, a volunteer who helped organize a similar vigil in Montreal, called on the government to create a national task force for missing and murdered native women. “We need our government to look at itself in the mirror and decide what’s right and what’s wrong,” Beljaars said. “What’s wrong is fighter jets and prisons. What’s right is taking care of women in this country.”

As for Martin, her resolve remains strong. “I’m letting go,” she said while holding her daughter’s urn for the final time. “But I’m going to stay positive. I’m still going to fight for justice. I’m still going to take this journey to stop other mothers and family members from feeling what we feel.”

What you can do:
Write to Stephen Harper and your Member of Parliament. Tell them that aboriginal women are loved and valued. Demand a national task force on missing and murdered aboriginal women.

Follow Families of Sisters in Spirit on their Facebook page. You can keep up-to-date on missing women in Canada and help bring them home safely.

Many photos of the vigil can be seen on the Union of National Employees’ Flickr site