'Spreading light and love': Sisters in Spirit march honours MMIWG
Songs of solidarity filled the hallways of MacEwan University Tuesday for the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
A Sisters in Spirit march was held at MacEwan University in honour of missing women, girls and two-spirit people – and the families and communities that grieve them.
The walk, one of many events happening across Canada, covered five buildings on the MacEwan campus, led by Knowledge Keeper Shuel-let-qua Q:olosoet, who also goes by Cynthia Jim. It ended at the kihêw waciston, the Indigenous centre at MacEwan with a teaching by Shuel-let-qua Q:olosoet.
"Many of us have a sister, a cousin, a mother, an auntie or a grandmother who has gone missing," said Shuel-let-qua Q:olosoet. "So this is our way of showing that support, being the voice for those that do not have a voice any longer."
"Many of those that we lost never found their way home, so this was a way of calling their spirits back home."
Shuel-let-qua Q:olosoet said living in a patriarchal society has been systematically violent for all women, and colonialism disrupted the matriarchies of many Indigenous societies. To empower all women, the last song sung at the march was a woman's warrior song, which Shuel-let-qua Q:olosoet said is sung to empower all women.
"We have a whole roster of generational trauma that we are countering. And this is one way of doing it, by spreading light and love and countering that in as many ways as we can through our culture, song, dance and sister and brotherhood."
Lauren and Isabella Alexis know the pain of searching for a loved one, and the cousins marched together holding a flyer of 28-year-old Angela Alexis.
"My sister is missing right now, it's a good way to honour her," Isabella said. "I pray for her every day you know."
Angela has been missing since Aug. 19. She was last seen on Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation, west of Edmonton.
Isabella said her family is doing everything they can to find Angela to bring her home to her two children and to a family who has already lost one child, and there is a reward being offered for information on her location.
"It's my second sibling that's gone missing, and it's really heartbreaking," said Isabella, whose older brother has been missing since 2013.
"We need her to come home safely."
Statistics Canada found that the average homicide rate involving Indigenous victims was six times higher than those involving a non-Indigenous victim.
Lauen says behind the numbers are people, and she wants to see more action taken.
"We want to see more done," said Lauren. "Instead of just treating us like a statistic.
"Because we're human beings and like everybody's life matters."
Another Sisters in Spirit march was held at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology Tuesday night.
With files from CTV News Edmonton's Alison MacKinnon
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction overturned by N.Y. appeals court
New York's highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction, reversing a landmark ruling of the #MeToo era in determining the trial judge improperly allowed women to testify about allegations against the ex-movie mogul that weren't part of the case.
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that is banned at Queen’s Park.
CTE: Researchers believe widespread brain injury may contribute to veteran suicide rate
Researchers are working to better understand if some Canadian military veterans may be suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE -- a disorder previously found in the brains of professional football and hockey players after their death.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
New deep-water channel allows first ship to pass Key bridge wreckage in Baltimore
The first cargo ship passed through a newly opened deep-water channel in Baltimore on Thursday after being stuck in the harbor since the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed four weeks ago, halting most maritime traffic through the city's port.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.