A Sisters In Spirit Vigil & March is set to take place this week.
The event honours the lives of missing or murdered Indigenous women, girls and 2-spirit individuals – while supporting the families in their search for justice.
Elder Pollyanna McBain is a Mi’kmaq woman from the Eel River Bar First Nation in New Brunswick
She tells Mix News the purpose of the event is to remember the spirit of all those missing or murdered.
“They’re gone because somebody had killed them, somebody had done them wrong,” McBain said. “So, we just want to reach out to the public and let them know if you are suffering from other circumstances or something so closely related that we are family. We are all in this together.”
As the current Cultural Navigator for the First Nations, Mtis, and Inuit Education Program for the Fort McMurray Public School District, McBain adds they want to let victims of these circumstances know that they are not alone.
She notes there’s a ripple effect on anyone who’s experienced loss or trauma in this way.
“Some people find healing a different way, and it’s not a nice way because they lean to drugs and alcohol and for some, they end up being the streetwalkers of Fort McMurray, or Vancouver, or Manitoba. So, it’s a really sensitive topic.”
Participants will meet at the Centre of Hope and march from there to Jubilee Plaza for a candlelight vigil.
The event takes place on Friday at 6 p.m.