We’re turning a blind eye

Dear editor: I tossed and turned, trying to sleep after attending the Sisters in Spirit Vigil held Oct. 4.

My heart pounded loudly, seemingly, to the beat of the First Nations drums. Where were all the other descendants of the colonialists like myself, the mayor, or even the mayoral candidates, I wondered.

Former Prime Minister Stephen Harper had said that an inquiry was not required — it wasn’t on his radar — it was a criminal matter. It would appear that the missing and murdered indigenous women are not on any local politicians radar either.

Then again, I may have missed something. What I did not miss however, was the pain felt by those present, some 100 plus individuals, whose loved ones have gone missing, have been taken, or have been murdered. I also saw the strength and resilience the First Nations people had to carry on and not let their loved ones be forgotten.

There was a peaceful/solemn walk of remembrance, from the Ki-Low-Na Friendship Society to the courthouse. There were drummers and placard holders, on which those signs displayed the faces of women gone missing or murdered, while others had a sketch of a faceless indigenous women with the question, “Am I Next?”

They live in fear of becoming the next woman to disappear, just as five other Okanagan women had.

Ashley Simpson lived across the street from Deanna Wertz on Yankee Flats Road, Salmon Arm, both went missing within three months of each other, a mere coincidence? Me thinks not.

Deanna Wertz went for a walk in the woods, Caitlin Potts, last seen at a Kelowna mall. Both were doing normal, everyday activities like hiking and shopping.

Nicole Bell, last seen in Sicamous and Traci Genereaux in Vernon. Genereaux’s remains were later found on a farm, belonging to the parents of Curtis Sagmoen. Whereas Genereaux was a drug user and lived on the streets, according to her father, she was trying to turn her life around. Dad doesn’t sleep, barely eats and it doesn’t get easier day to day.

Then there was Brittany Martel of Hay River, found dead in a ditch at the Mine Creek road exit, near Merritt, July 22, 2018. Her death was not deemed suspicious by the RCMP, although her body was discovered not wearing shoes.

Billie Jean Gabriel said that the RCMP’s findings are deeper than insult and injury. There are 1,181 missing and murdered Indigenous women in Canada, and First Nations women are five to seven times more likely to go missing.

I lost my toddler son for only a few hours, 31 years ago, but will never forget the terror, the cold sweat, the gut-wrenching fear, not knowing what happened to him, or if I’d see him again.

Thankfully a Good Samaritan found and brought him home unscathed. I can’t imagine enduring that agony daily, as Canada’s indigenous people do. Surely we can do better helping find these missing women. Doreen Zyderveld-Hagel

Kelowna