Unfazed by the cold February rain, hundreds of residents of Greater Victoria gathered to remember the lives of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQIA+ people at the Stolen Sisters乌鸦传媒� March.
Monique May, march organizer and committee member with Stolen Sister 2S231, added that the event also doubled as a tribute to the resilience of Indigenous survivors, as people slowly gathered at Victoria's Centennial Square shortly before noon on Feb. 16.
乌鸦传媒淚t's a day to come together to honour the memory of our missing and murdered women, girls, and LGBT people, and we recognize the missing men and boys as well,乌鸦传媒� said May. 乌鸦传媒淚t is also to uplift the survivors and their family members. It's a space to bring allies together to grieve and stand in solidarity.乌鸦传媒�
Marking the event乌鸦传媒檚 16th year, May added that the memorial also serves as a nationwide call, on all government levels, for justice for Indigenous communities and beyond.
乌鸦传媒淚 would like to be able to have dialect and conversation with our provincial partners to see where they even sit,乌鸦传媒� said May. 乌鸦传媒淲e want to make the community not just safe for Indigenous people but for everyone; gender-based violence doesn't discriminate against anyone's race.乌鸦传媒�
Before leading the march to the B.C. Legislature at 1 p.m., May said the event held particular symbolic importance to her, emphasizing the need for Indigenous voices in decision-making processes affecting their communities.
乌鸦传媒淚'm a survivor,乌鸦传媒� said May. 乌鸦传媒淚'm very blessed to have travelled to every province and every territory in this country. The one thing that we have is we all can give a story about a missing or murdered relative.
乌鸦传媒淏ut you have to look at the resilience of our people and our voices are becoming stronger and stronger. We're moving forward to try to do the work. We just need the support of the community.乌鸦传媒�
In attendance, holding a poster with a woman乌鸦传媒檚 face on it, was Helen Joe and her family. The woman in question was her sister, Catherine Joe.
乌鸦传媒淪he was murdered in January 1977 and her body is found in June,乌鸦传媒� said Joe. 乌鸦传媒淲e were getting phone calls saying they've seen her here and there so my dad, brothers and uncles were going out to check the places and it wasn't her.
乌鸦传媒淎 hiker found her near the hospital in Duncan. We were lucky he found her because we wouldn't know what happened to her. My mom had to go identify her deceased body. It was too hard on her because my dad and brother and uncles were out of town and she went by herself.乌鸦传媒�
More than 47 years later, Catherine乌鸦传媒檚 case is still going cold. Asking for justice and seeking closure, Joe and her family are attending the event to share their story and hopefully move the conversation forward.
乌鸦传媒淲e just want to be safe,乌鸦传媒� said Joe. 乌鸦传媒淭o this day, there乌鸦传媒檚 still quite a few [of our people] missing and there乌鸦传媒檚 no justice for us and our people.乌鸦传媒�
