Rally part of momentum for national inquiry
There is momentum behind calls for a national inquiry into murdered and missing indigenous women in Canada, says an organizer of an annual memorial march.
More than a 100 people gathered at Saskatoon city hall on a blustery Saturday afternoon to show support for families of murdered and missing indigenous women and girls. Darlene Okemaysim-Sicotte of Iskwewuk Ewichiwitochik (Women Walking Together) said more people are adding their voices to the cause.
“We feel like there are more allies across the country supporting the missing and murdered indigenous women and girls movement,” Okemaysim-Sicotte told reporters at the event.
“What’s really helping is the kind way people are coming together — not being adversarial, just reaching out with the kindness of human beings. Often it feels like indigenous people and especially indigenous women are targeted and safety is not for them.
They’re always worried about being a victim somewhere down the line.”
Similar marches and rallies were held across North America on Saturday. In Canada, the events are leading up to a national roundtable on murdered and missing indigenous women hosted by the Assembly of First Nations in Ottawa on Feb. 27.
The one-day meeting is bringing together aboriginal groups and members of federal, provincial and territorial governments to discuss the issue. Many hope the event will lead to a national inquiry, something Prime Minister Stephen Harper has rejected.
Saskatoon city council, the Saskatchewan government and the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association have called for the federal government to establish the inquiry.
Between 1980 and 2012, 153 aboriginal women were murdered in Saskatchewan, compared to 116 non-aboriginal women (about 15 per cent of the provincial population is aboriginal), according to RCMP.
“We love the momentum going on around the country,” Okemaysim-Sicotte said. “People do want a national inquiry.”
Saskatoon police Chief Clive Weighill said at the rally that he disagrees with Harper’s assessment of the issue.
“I know the prime minister says this is a crime issue. I think it’s a systemic issue. It’s a poverty issue, an education issue,” Weighill said. “It’s not crime. We have to get to the root causes.”
The family of Monica Burns also spoke at the rally. Burns, a 28-year-old mother who grew up on the James Smith Cree Nation, was found dead on a remote snowmobile trail northwest of Prince Albert in January. Todd Daniel McKeaveney, 38, is charged with seconddegree murder in connection to her death.
“Even though it tears us up when we think of those not found, we have to be strong and celebrate the lives of these women,” said Burns’ uncle Eugene Arcand.
He said an inquiry should happen but just waiting for one is not going to fix anything.
“We need the services for our women now,” Arcand said. “Women are the caregivers of our society. Not just aboriginal women — all women ... Let’s make the effort to respect the principles of coexistence.”