Last Sunday the Niijkiwendidaa Anishnaabekwewag Services Circle held an event to honour murdered and missing indigenous women. On the way to the ceremony I passed through this moving contribution to the Red Dress Project.
Above is Joyce Carpenter whose daughter Patricia is among the long list of girls and women whose disappearance and deaths remain unexamined by police or authorities.
The afternoon’s event of speakers, songs, prayers and ceremonial dance was presented to call attention to these women and the way that Canada has failed them and their families.
The number of people who attended was strong evidence that the issue of Canada’s missing aboriginal women is slowly gaining attention, not just in native communities, but in communities across the country.