Vigil honours murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls through art

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Victims of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls and Two-Spirit persons (MMIWG2S) were honoured on Saturday evening at the Treaty 8 Tribal Association’s offices in a celebratory way.

Those in attendance, either victims of MMIWG2S or those who came to support families affected, were given the chance to decorate 51 pottery dresses, donated by local company Sticks ‘n Stones Studio.

Organizer of the event, Connie Greyeyes, talked to Energeticcity.ca about planning, saying she wanted to create a different experience from a typical vigil. Greyeyes is the MMIWG2S coordinator for the north at the Indian Residential School Survivors Society (IRSSS).

She added the inspiration came from owning red dress Christmas ornaments, with the dresses honouring MMIWG2S persons hung in public places during May’s Red Dress Day.

“I actually was given these beautiful red dresses,” said Greyeyes. “I hang those red glass dresses in my Christmas tree every year in honour of missing and murdered women and girls.

“Pam [Hagen] and her Sticks ‘n Stones Studio and all of the beautiful creations that she makes are on my social media timeline. I just thought to myself, ‘I’m going to ask Pam to make dresses so that family members can sit with community members and paint them in memory of loved ones that are missing or have been murdered.”

According to Statistics Canada, Indigenous, First Nations and Métis women are more than six times as likely to be victims of homicide versus non-Indigenous women, based on stats between 2009 and 2021.

The National Day of Action for MMIWG2S persons set for October 4th was first recognized in 2006 by the Sisters in Spirit initiative.

Mayor Lilia Hansen even took part in the Fort St. John event, speaking on supporting Indigenous families who have to bear the pain of loved ones who have never come home.

“As a mother [and] as a daughter, [I want] to stand beside people that have experienced loss of loved ones,” said Hansen. “I just want to be part of the solution. I just want to give strength. I can’t imagine what families have gone through losing a loved one and not knowing.”

Following the art session, members of the crowd were invited to address others and tell their stories.

Maureen Sharp spoke of her foster sister, Roxanne Tierra.

Forced into prostitution, Tierra was murdered and mutilated, with her remains being found in a duffel bag on the Highway of Tears, a stretch of road from Prince George to Prince Rupert.

“I’m watching something happen with all women…there is a marginalization that I have not seen before,” said Sharp. “There’s an inequality that’s been going on, and I am seeing it within dynamics that I’ve never seen before.

“I’m seeing women being pushed down, and it’s worrying me. Now what I am looking at within this Indigenous community is we’re fighting the government. We are fighting for our life, and we shouldn’t be. It’s disgusting.”

Greyeyes says she became an “accidental activist” following the murder of her cousin in Edmonton in 1993.

She was burned alive, dying 13 days later.

“Often the work that I do is personal,” said Greyeyes. “It’s also personal in the ways that I knew many of the women that are missing from this community. 

“The heartbreak [is] they are not able to walk to witness [children and grandchildren] grow up. Being able to do this is so special for me. It means a lot, and it means a lot that so many people came out.”

Once the painting of the dresses was finished, they were taken home by Sticks ‘n Stones Studio’s Hagen.

They will be then put into a kiln oven, and once finished, participants who took part will be contacted to pick their dresses up at the Treaty 8 offices.

The MMIWG2S vigil took place on Saturday, October 4th on the National Day of Action for Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls and Two-Spirit Persons, first observed by the Sisters in Spirit Initiative in 2006.