Sisters in Spirit vigil growing year after year in Bonnyville

The Bonnyville Friendship Centre’s Sisters in Spirit vigil continues to grow, thanks to the support of the community, who over the course of the past few years, has allowed it to grow to what it is today.

Held back on Oct. 4, the fifth annual vigil aligns with the National Day of Action in Canada for Missing, Murdered, Exploited Indigenous Peoples and this year found a home at the Bonnyville and District Centennial Centre.

“It’s to spread awareness, so with that being said, it’s almost like every year we’ve gone bigger with it, because of the interest that we’ve been given by the community,” said Janet Gobert, director of operations at the Friendship Centre. 

With 473 people in attendance, said Gobert, spectators from across the area listened to talks from selected speakers about Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

The key of the evening is to try and educate those who aren’t as familiar with the current situation where Indigenous women and girls are more likely to be kidnapped or murdered than other groups in the country.

The evening began with dinner and the program was launched with a performance by the Cree Drum Group. The evening included many local dignitaries and speakers from Bonnyville, along with those who specifically discussed the MMIWG cause.

 

Bernadette Iahtail, who sits with Gobert on the Alberta Human Rights Commission’s anti-racism panel, was one of the speakers. 

Laura Grizzlypaws performed a bear dance. She has earned a lot of attention for the MMIWG cause through her TikTok page in recent months.

A new ribbon skirt was presented to the Friendship Centre by the Bonnyville RCMP with a Truth and Reconciliation symbol on it.

Shiloh Prosser, who spoke at the vigil two years before, comes at the issue from a more youth perspective, says Gobert.

“She is actually quite articulate when it comes to this movement, so that’s good to see. Because I think having a youth representative that is not scared to bring up the issue or even speak in regards to the issue is positive within the community,” said Gobert. 

Orange ribbons were tied to the tipi in the middle of the room to recognize those did not come home from Residential Schools.

Pictures of women who have been murdered or are still missing were also shown.

“It hits home when you know that person and even when we have the visual and we have those pictures up there of the murdered women, how much more if you actually knew who they were, because those are people’s families,” said Gobert. 

“I would like to say thank you to the community, because without their support, we couldn’t continue. So I think that’s really awesome. Bonnyville and the Lakeland area, their support is amazing.”