THUNDER BAY — "We remember them. We say their names. And we stand with the families and communities who continue to seek justice."
Pearl Helton spoke about her little cousin — Charity — on Monday, saying she was taken away too soon.
“Today, we remember Charity with love, with sorrow and with strength. Her life mattered. Her spirit lives on in the hearts of those who knew her and in the voices that refused to let her name be forgotten,” said Helton, a student at Oshki-Wenjack.
The Indigenous education institute hosted a community walk on Monday in honour of the lives of Indigenous women, girls and Two-Spirited people who are missing and have been taken by violence.
The walk was organized as part of Red Dress Day, May 5, a national day of remembrance and action, to raise awareness of the ongoing violence faced by Indigenous women, girls and Two-Spirit people and to call for justice, accountability and systemic change.
“I felt that it was important because Oshki-Wenjack, the Wenjack Education Institute, we recently had some students that went missing and some murdered,” said Clarissa Neshinapaise, a student support navigator for Oshki-Wenjack, who organized the walk.
“So, I felt that it was close to heart to us and that it was important to do this walk.”
She said seeing this support come from the community means a lot to her.
“It shows me that people care and that people want change on this matter,” said Neshinapaise.
“Charity was more than a name," said Helton. "She was a daughter, a friend (and) a force taken too soon, but never erased. We say her name, we carry her memory and we stand together for justice for her and for all Indigenous women, girls and Two-Spirited people whose lives have been stolen.”
“We see when it’s a non-Indigenous person that goes missing. Media is all over. Like I was sharing about a Netflix movie about the lady that went missing. There was huge media coverage, but when it comes to Indigenous women, it’s just a little blurb sometimes,” said Helton.
“But we don’t hear the whole story where that person was from (and) which community they were from, but they were someone’s daughter, someone’s aunt, sister.”
There are a lot of missing women in the city, said Helton, and she feels they need more media coverage on why that happens.
“Like our children… notes go home in the school bags, right? ‘This is what your child learned today,’” said Helton.
“And that I feel would do a lot... to cover why this is so important to us and just to end the violence."
"And awareness is not enough, there must be action,” she added.
Helton said she feels that people need to keep the message alive, so that their voices will be heard. She also added that government institutions and schools should raise awareness.
“Today, Oshki-Wenjack is showing that. That they are remembering our missing and stolen sisters,” said Helton.
For those wanting to learn more about Red Dress Day, Neshinapaise recommends that people research and educate themselves and also recognize that the day is important for Indigenous people.
To raise awareness, she added that people can also use the MMIW hashtag on social media.
