Missing and murdered indigenous women honoured at annual vigil

By Olivia Timm and Dariya Baiguzhiyeva

KINGSTON – Close to 100 people came out to celebrate the 8th annual Sisters in Spirit vigil held in Kingston on Tuesday.

The event was jam-packed with activities to honour missing and murdered indigenous women and girls. A red cloth performance started the night off, followed by a sacred fire burning and tobacco ties ceremony. The red cloth performance featured 10 women with red cloths on their shoulders to represent the absence of murdered and missing indigenous women.

Jolie Brant, aboriginal and rural women’s outreach councillor at Kingston Interval House, delivered the opening ceremony. Brant said, “I believe that continuing the Sisters in Spirit vigils every year helps us to raise awareness, educate the community, but to also honour the missing and murdered indigenous women and girls across Canada.”

Brant was pleased with the turnout she said.

“I think it went really well, actually maybe one of the most powerful we’ve had yet. Even walking with that red cloth around my shoulders, it’s so powerful.”

She urges everyone to educate themselves and to talk about the issues. She says, “The more people that talk about this, the more people we can bring in, the more allies we can bring in. Maybe they’ll continue to push forward in this inquiry and not just be all talk.”

There was also an assortment of poems and speeches. The event featured a touching interactive performance done by Melanie Gray of the Queen’s Native Students’ Association. She made a dress that had pictures of missing and murdered indigenous women on it, and told some of their stories. Multiple people commented on the effect her performance had. Carol LaVecque of the Tyendinaga Native Women’s Association said, “I liked Melanie with her native dress, I thought that was pretty powerful.”

Next year’s event will be held on Oct. 4 and will take place in Tyendinaga.