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Content warning: This story contains details about “Canada’s” genocidal epidemic of MMIWG2S. Please look after your spirit and read with care.
Embraces of warmth and greetings could be heard before a hush fell over the crowd at the 33rd annual Women’s Memorial March on Wednesday.
Family members of missing and murdered Indigenous women approached the mic, sharing stories of remembrance while chants of “we love you” echoed amongst attendees.
Chas Coutlee, a woman from the Nla’kapamux Nation and one of the co-ordinators and committee members for the march, explained why the date holds a special significance for the community.
“February 14th, many people know this as a day of love and so I think it’s a perfect day to honour the lives of women who disappeared and were murdered because those women weren’t just loved, they still are loved,” said Coutlee.
“Their lives mattered and their lives continue to matter.”
Each year, the Women’s Memorial March happens on Valentine’s Day through the downtown eastside in xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh and səlilwətaɬ territories. The event was founded in 1992 after Cheryl Ann Joe, a shíshálh woman and mother of three, was found murdered in East Vancouver.
Coutlee has been in her role for four-and-a-half years now. She said after joining the committee, it was important to her to see where and how she could be of service to the women who have been on the committee for such a long time, pouring their hearts into this work.
Chants from the crowd of “break the silence, end the violence,” resonated between speakers and those listening. The words represent the ongoing act of raising awareness on a day for families to grieve in a collective way and celebrate the lives of their loved ones.
“I believe awareness is the seed, but the prayer is that those seeds will bloom into action and that each person who comes, if they haven’t been impacted in that way that they will pick up one or more of the calls to justice and really make it their own within their family community and circle,” added Coutlee.
As said in the final report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, the calls for justice and steps forward “to end and redress this genocide must be no less monumental than the combination of systems and actions that has worked to maintain colonial violence for generations.”
The calls address areas such as enhancing safety and addressing the socio-economic conditions that contribute to the inequalities faced by Indigenous women, girls, LGBTQ and Two-Spirit people. This includes actions to improve housing, education, employment opportunities, reforming the justice system and preservation of cultural practices.
“I think people come and see the march but they don’t maybe know the whole history of it and that it is friends and family members and people with deep love and care who really want this to stop,” said Coutlee.
Coutlee said the movement to support MMIWG2S+ has grown each year, with more people showing up or holding marches in other locations.
While the event was happening in “Vancouver,” another march also took place in “Surrey.” Taylor Mason, a woman of Athabaskan descent who works with Anika Youth Services, attended the smaller event.
Mason recounted the initial gathering having around 20 people.
“As we started walking, we just started gaining more and more people. By the end of it I want to say we had 50, 60 maybe 70 people,” said Mason.
That march began in Holland Park with attendees making their way to the former Motel Hollywood, a notorious location for MMIWG2S+ cases.
At the event in “Vancouver,” over a thousand attendees gathered. Children ran about as people of all ages — many dressed in red — started the march with singing and drumming.
Music could be heard throughout the march but with pauses at stops to commemorate where women were last seen or found. Roses, medicine and prayers were offered by Elders as the crowd — many holding signs, posters and photographs — stood still in the moments for remembrance.
Concluding with speeches and a healing circle, Carol Martin, one of the organizers of the march, recognized the uplifted spirit that was felt and acknowledged the dedication of all involved before a community feast. She said she felt hopeful to see so many people at the event.
“Also, hoping that in our lifetime, hopefully we won’t have to march and bring awareness to our loved ones going missing and being murdered because there will be actual safety and actual care,” she said.
“This is a hope, this is a hope we’d love to see in our lifetime.”
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