Events also recognize violence against two-spirit, LGBTQ and gender-diverse members of the Indigenous community
Calls to pursue justice for thousands of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls across the country echoed through downtown Calgary Friday, with two vigils marking an annual push for governments to take action.
Around 200 people gathered at Olympic Plaza early Friday afternoon after a march down Stephen Avenue. The event featured several guest speakers from Calgary’s Indigenous community, along with loved ones of missing and murdered Indigenous peoples.
It was the first of two vigils in the city. The second was set for Friday evening outside city hall.
Both vigils associate themselves with the national Sisters in Spirit movement. Since 2005, Sisters in Spirit vigils have been held every Oct. 4 to honour missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls in Canada.
The events also recognize violence against two-spirit, LGBTQ and gender-diverse members of the Indigenous community.
“Sisters in Spirit vigils raise public awareness about missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and now our Two Spirit, gender diverse folks in Canada,” organizers for the evening vigil said in a news release.
“(The vigil) will provide a forum for healing, reconciliation, collaborative dialogue and commitment to Truth and Reconciliation,” organizers said.
“This event aims to honour the humanity of the thousands of women who have been so cruelly wrenched from their families.”
According to vigil organizers, more than 300 Sisters in Spirit vigils take place across Canada and internationally.
In 2019, the final report from the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls outlined 231 “calls for justice” — recommended actions for governments and Canadians to take to end the violence.
An organizer for the evening vigil says there has not been enough action from all levels of government in the years following the report’s release.
“There has been no progress made . . . at all,” said Michelle Robinson, adding that organizers opted not to invite any politicians to the event because of the inaction.
“Politicians tend to come and take photos, and they don’t actually act on the issue,” Robinson said.
“There was no reason to invite them when we know they have no action behind them.
“We just don’t bother wasting our time with them anymore.”
In 2022, a report released by the Alberta Joint Working Group on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls outlined 113 recommendations on the government’s response to the national inquiry.
Robinson claimed similar inaction by government on these 113 “pathways to justice,” on which she says “there’s been no real leadership.”
“There’s just no action,” she added.
Public records show there are more than 5,000 missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people in Canada.
“We are overrepresented and at greater risk than the national average of homicide and violence,” vigil organizers said, calling the violence against Indigenous people an “epidemic.”
“We call on all members of the community to gather, learn and share in ceremony to remember our missing and murdered loved ones.”