The sounds of drums filled downtown Kelowna, B.C., Tuesday morning as part of a national day of awareness for missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people.
Kelowna’s Red Dress event was organized by the Ki-Low-Na Friendship Society but took place across B.C., Canada and beyond.
“Today is just an important day to think about all the missing and murdered Indigenous women and teach our children how important it is,” said Mary Jobe, who attended the Kelowna event with her daughter.
Many in the large crowd wore red to mark the national day of awareness
“I don’t think settler Canadians have taken much accountability yet,” said attendee David Jefferess. “We have a lot of work to do as settler Canadians to stop this violence.”
Many people in attendance also held photos of people they didn’t know personally but who never came home.
“This is Cecilia and she’s a little girl that went missing in Vancouver back in 1989,” Jobe said pointing to the young face in the poster she held. “This whole time no one knows where these girls are, what happened to them.”
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The event included a march through the downtown core and along Highway 97 to the steps of the Kelowna Courthouse.
Advocates say there is an urgent need for changes and better supports to reduce violence they say remains disproportionately high among Indigenous women and girls.
“Indigenous women make up 4.3 per cent of the population in Canada, yet account for 16 per cent of the of the homicide victims, also known as femicide, and 11 per cent of missing women, ” said Angela Marie MacDougall, executive director of Battered Women’s Support Services. “That’s disproportionate to the population.”
Community leaders say the statistics are tied to deep-rooted systemic issues.
“The historical piece is the reason why Indigenous women and girls were targeted is because no one looked for them because this system, there was systemic racism where they weren’t seen as important or valued members of society,” said Christina Verhagen, executive director of the Ki-Low-Na Friendship Society.
While some progress has been made, many say much more is needed including action on the National Inquiry’s Calls for Justice made nearly seven years ago.
“We haven’t moved on those recommendations for the National Inquiry and it’s something that we continue to push for,” MacDougall said. “It matters a lot.”
The recommendations include changes to health care, social services and policing so that for Indigenous communities have stronger supports.
“Healing starts with acknowledgement. We have to see the pain, we have to feel the pain in order to heal,” said Verhagen.
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