Missing aboriginal women are remembered on Valentine’s Day in marches across Canada. The tradition began in Vancouver in 1991 following the murder of an aboriginal woman on a city street there.
The woman’s name is not spoken today, to honour the wishes of her family, but the Women’s Memorial website says, “This woman’s murder in particular was the catalyst that moved women into action. Out of this sense of hopelessness and anger came an annual march on Valentine’s Day to express compassion, community, and caring for all women in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, Coast Salish Territories.”
This year, Gladys Radek, of the Gitxsan and Wet’suwet’en First Nations, organized the first annual Memorial March for Murdered and Missing Aboriginal Women in Orillia, Ontario. It is one of 20 confirmed cities now participating in this year’s event.
Gladys Radek co-founded Walk4Justice, a campaign to raise awareness and seek justice for missing and murdered women. In 2008, the first walk was held and women fighting for justice marched 4,000 kilometres, from Vancouver to Ottawa. The demand for a public inquiry into the estimated 824 missing and murdered aboriginal women continues to grow.
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