For the sixth year, men, women, Aboriginals and non-Aboriginals alike will walk in solidarity for a national problem that has gone relatively unrecognized for decades.
Organizers of the Sisters in Spirit Walk/Vigil are asking all people to come out and show support for missing and murdered Aboriginal women at 5 p.m. on October 4 at the Athabasca United Church.
The group will walk around town, head to the riverbank for a prayer, followed by a chili and bannock supper and a sacred circle for people to share their stories.
In a letter to Aboriginal communities about the event, Dillern Powder emphasized that the problem should no longer be ignored by mainstream society.
“We need to stand up and be counted. We are people, we are human, we need to gather and make people understand we will no longer take this lack of acknowledgment. We will stand and walk together, as one people,” he wrote.
Organizers of the event emphasized that it is not just women that should walk for their sisters.
“Sisters in Spirit is not a woman’s issue, but a human issue that affects all people and both genders. We want to encourage our men to walk with us in solidarity, to raise their voice with ours,” they said in a letter.
Statistics coming out of the Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) paint a grim picture.
The national group representing mainly First Nations and Métis women showed that female Aboriginals represent approximately ten per cent of female homicides in the country, even though they make up only three per cent of the national population of women.
Established in 2005, NWAC’s Sisters in Spirit initiative works to increase awareness and understanding of the impact of violence against Aboriginal women, which often leads to their disappearance and death.
Between 2000 and 2008, 153 cases of murder have been identified in the database, with an additional 115 who have gone missing. Of those cases, 16 per cent were in Alberta, second only to British Columbia.
Overall, Aboriginal women in Canada report rates of violence 3.5 times higher than non-Aboriginal women, and are five times more likely to die as a result of that violence.
Even with the trend of over-representation of female Aboriginals victims, there is an overall feeling of cursory glances given to their cases by both the media and law enforcement.
“We want the spotlight on the media and ask the question why Aboriginal peoples do not seem to get the same coverage as other races do,” the organizers wrote. “People need to know that numerous killers of Aboriginal women have not been apprehended due to lack of investigation.”
In October 2010, NWAC, the Assembly of First Nations, the National Association of Friendship Centres, KAIROS, Amnesty International, and many others worked together to push for federal action on the issue.
According to Amnesty International, as of July 2011, the government had dedicated $10 million over five years, much of which went towards police initiatives that track missing persons.
“Even this initiative is undermined by the fact that police are still not required... to ensure that police reports consistently and accurately record whether or not victims of crime and missing persons are Aboriginal,” their website stated. “As a result, the true extent and nature of violence against Indigenous women will continue to be obscured.”
Federal minister for the status of women, Edmonton–Spruce Grove member of parliament Rona Ambrose stated “we are all, at the territorial and provincial and federal level, putting in place — and have already put in place — very good concrete measures to deal with this issue."
Organizers of the event in Athabasca are asking for donations to cover the cost of a Sisters in Spirit Banner that they will use for all future events. Donations can be made at the Athabasca United Church, with a note earmarking it for the group.
The group also wants residents to know that the use of the handibus will again be donated by the county to ensure elders and mobility-impaired individuals can participate in the walk.
