Missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls (MMIWG) and two-spirit people were honoured in B.C.’s capital this weekend during the annual Stolen Sisters Memorial March.
Indigenous drummers led hundreds from Our Place Society to the legislature building Sunday (Feb. 12) in Victoria.
“We are losing too many of our people,” Stolen Sisters Memorial March committee member Monique May said. “This needs to end. We need support as a community from coast to coast. It’s an ongoing crisis.”
Assembly of First Nations National Chief RoseAnne Archibald spoke on the legislature lawn after the march.
“Every First Nations person here is affected by MMIWG,” Archibald said. “We either know somebody directly that has gone missing or has been murdered or we know of a family or friend of someone who has gone missing or has been murdered. This is a widespread issue.”
This was the 13th annual march, but the event hadn’t been held since 2020 because of COVID-19 concerns.
“Sometimes people think of genocide as a mass genocide that’s happening all at once, but the genocide that’s happening to First Nation’s people is happening to one person at a time,” Archibald added.
An Esquimalt missing woman file was brought back into the spotlight ahead of the march.
Belinda Cameron was last seen on May 11, 2005, at the Shopper’s Drug Mart in the 800-block of Esquimalt Road, and she was reported missing on June 4, 2005.
Cameron is described as Indigenous, 5’8” tall, weighing approximately 170 pounds, with dark brown hair and dark brown eyes.
Investigators believe she was the victim of foul play.
Anyone with information about this case is asked to contact the Victoria Police Department’s historical case review office at 250-995-7390 or call Greater Victoria Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477.
READ MORE: Families of missing and murdered Indigenous women seek change
@brendanmayer
brendan.mayer@blackpress.ca
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
