A crowd marched through Thompson Oct. 4 to bring attention to the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.
The annual event, held on the provincial day of awareness and national day of action on MMIWG and 2SLGBTQQIA+, started at Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak’s office and ended at MacLean Park by Thompson City Hall, where participants listened to speeches and enjoyed free entertainment and a meal of stew and bannock.
“We must continue talking about the issue of MMIWG and being part of the solution to end all forms of gender-based violence,” said MKO MMIWG liaison unit manager Heidi Spence. “We want to be able to speak up for those who no longer have a voice and continuing to advocate for change.”
Recognized in Manitoba as MMIWG Awareness Day since 2017, Oct. 4 is a day to remember those who were killed or went missing and to honour the healing journeys of gender-based violence survivors and their families, said a joint statement from Premier Heather Stefanson and Indigenous Reconciliation and Northern Relations Minister Alan Lagimodiere.
“Our government remains committed to the important work of implementing the Calls for Justice of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls and we continue to consult and work collaboratively with all levels of government to implement priorities in the national action plan,” they said.
The Manitoba legislature was lit with a symbolic red dress Oct. 4 as a visual reminder of the tragic issues surrounding MMIWG.
MKO Grand Chief Garrison Settee, whose plans to take part in the Thompson event were thwarted by flight delays in Winnipeg, said in a press release that violence against Indigenous women is an ongoing tragedy.
“Our women are sacred and should be treated with respect and honour. MKO will continue to work to raise awareness of the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people.”
Billie Joe Thompson of StreetReach North, a social service organization that works to prevent youth from running away and from falling victim to sexual exploitation, said she feels personally outraged by daily acts of violence against women, Indigenous women and girls, and gender-diverse people.
“As some who works with sexually exploited youth, I can say that we witness daily the impacts this violence has on individuals, families and the community as a whole,” she said. “It’s our hope that continuing to work together building capacity amongst individuals and through our partnerships with community and government, we can end sexual exploitation and violence in our community and assist with healing as we move forward together.”
The reasons Indigenous women are vulnerable to going missing or being murdered are multi-faceted, longtime MMIWG advocate Hilda Anderson-Pyrz said at a Keewatin Tribal Council event in Thompson on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation Sept. 30, ranging from the imposition of European views on Indigenous Peoples to the way Indigenous women who are victims of crime or subjects of police investigation are portrayed in the media, such as in cases where the photos provided by police departments appealing for information about missing women are their mug shots.
“It just perpetuates further violence and makes it seem like we deserve to go missing and that we were burdens to society and nobody cared if we were missing,” she said.
