Angela Pezzotti for SooNews.ca
Friday, February 13, 2009, 9:32AM
Members of Womyn 4 Social Justice were joined by students from St. Mary’s and St. Basil’s High Schools at noon on Thursday to remember the missing and murdered women in Canada.
The group lined Queen St. in front of the Court House and waved paper hearts and carried banners to raise awareness of the missing and murdered women from across the country and in particular that 80 percent of those missing and murdered are aboriginal women.
This is the second year that the Womyn 4 Social Justice has organized the vigil; it’s the first year the students have participated.
Rose Marie Valade leader of Chaplin Services at St. Mary’s said that students from the Knights Justice League, the schools social justice organization and a number of students from the native studies and language classes came to the vigil. “We are here standing in solidarity with our native brothers and sisters in support of their search for justice for the missing native women.” said Valade.
Bonnie Baranski of Womyn for Social Justice said they hold the vigil on Valentine’s Day because it’s about love. “These women are stilled loved. They are not forgotten.” said Baranski.
Baranski says the latest incident of a native women going missing was in Saskatchewan.
A 17 year old girl went to a party December 12th and hasn’t been seen since. A Calgary Sun article about the incident says the mother of Tara Lyn Poorman feels that because her daughter is native and was at a party the “authorities are not taking the case seriously”.
In August 2008 Gladys Radek a B.C. women walked through Sault Ste Marie on her way to Ottawa to call for a public inquiry in the missing and murdered women. Radek own 22 year old niece went missing along Highway 16 in B. C.
The 720km stretch of highway 16 between Prince George and Prince Rupert is referred to as the ‘highway of tears’ because of the number of women who go missing along this stretch.
http://www.soonews.ca/viewarticle.php?id=21143
