The healing journey

Leona Keesic’s daughter Charity was raped and murdered at the age of 19 in their hometown of Moose Factory in 2001.

The case was solved 10 days later, but Keesic’s story is rare. Only 40 per cent of 583 cases involving missing or murdered Aboriginal women across Canada have been solved.

Keesic joined a crowd of about 100 people Monday afternoon at Paterson Park to honour the memory of the missing and murdered women in the fifth annual Sisters in Spirit Vigil – an event held in cities across the country Oct. 4.

Attending events like the vigil is part of Keesic’s healing journey. She said she attends any event like the vigil when she hears of them to support others who have befallen the same type of tragedy. She added that the vigils also provide her with the support she needs.

"It’s really important because abuse is going on everywhere," she said. "Women are going missing; women are being murdered."

While the vigil is great for awareness, more needs to be done on a daily basis through other programs, research and support from the police and anyone else willing to lend a hand.

The Sisters in Spirit initiative was started when people with missing family members didn’t know where to turn for help, said Claudia Legarde, western board representative with the Ontario Native Women’s Association.

"Today we stand in solidarity," she said, adding the vigil also pays respect to the people who have lost family members to violence. "We won’t forget their pain and we will definitely carry on the spirit of our women."

Legarde called the 583 cases of missing and murdered Aboriginal women a disturbing numbers and said through research and awareness, their goal is to find out why so many women are meeting tragic ends across the country.

They hope to see that 40 per cent of cases solved eventually become 100 per cent and they will work to make it happen.

"We’ll always be there as long as we’re alive and our kids are alive and the next generation is alive," she said.