With K’omoks First Nations on Vancouver Island, BC recently hosting the Walking with our Sisters Memorial, many community members are still inspired.
The memorial installation commemorates the 1,181 missing and murdered indigenous women in Canada and the US by displaying 1,793+ pairs of moccasin vamps (tops) plus 108 pairs of children’s vamps handmade by various people across the country. It was a poignantly beautiful, yet somber display that moved most people to tears as they slowly walked past the mocassin tops and read the handstitched names, symbols and momentos that represented each woman and child.
During this long federal campaign conversations surrounding our missing and murdered Women continued. The intention was to raise further awareness on election day through a powerful message: Vote for an Inquiry.
One of the organizers envisioned hanging 1181 shirts to symbolize Canadas dirty laundry. Together, the organizers gathered close to 500 shirts and created signage that would hang from the 5th street bridge in Courtenay. This bridge is a high traffic area and is in the center of two large polls.
On the eve of election day, five women spent close to five hours strategically placing the shirts and signage. During this time the RCMP arrived and were quite supportive. Sadly, the City of Courtenay dismantled this display within hours of its creation.
The message is this: Stephen Harper has said he will not hold an inquiry into the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women.
Vote for a party that will!
