The walk to end violence against aboriginal women and girls began at the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council with a moment of silence. It was a fitting place to begin the walk, said Tseshaht Councillor Deb Foxcroft, given that the area used to be the site of Alberni Indian Residential School where many aboriginal children were abused violently and sexually.
Tseshaht council had organized the walk to bring awareness to the nearly 600 aboriginal women across the country that have been murdered or remain missing. It was one of many such marches held across Canada to remember and honor the mothers, sisters and daughters taken from their families through violence.
About 50 people participated in the Port Alberni event. They walked from NTC to the Tseshaht administration building where Foxcroft and Tseshaht Chief Councillor Hugh Braker planted a tree, grown from a seedling by Braker’s parents Pauline and Tinus Braker.
Hugh Braker said he was pleasantly surprised by the number of people who joined the walk that would take them to the Hupacasath dock where they were greeted by Councillor Brenda Sayers and Peggy Tatoosh and others. They went on to gather at the base of the welcome figures at Victoria Quay.
Many on the walk carried signs calling for an end to the violence that face aboriginal women and girls, who are five times more likely to be murdered than other women in Canada, said Tseshaht Councillor Janice Johnson, who shared that she was a survivor of violence.
Among the participants of the walk was MLA Scott Fraser who told Ha-Shilth-Sa that not enough was being done to protect women and girls. He said everyone has to be a part of the solution.
“Together we must shed light on the legacy of this violence and the systemic oppression which has allowed it to flourish.” He said people have to say no to violence, and seek the end of racism and prejudice which places more value on some lives than others. They must demand better from our society and our justice system.
Chief Councillor Moses Martin of Tla-o-qui-aht, whose own granddaughter remains missing after 10 years, was on hand for the walk. Granddaughter Lisa Marie Young disappeared from a party in Nanaimo.
See stories: http://www.hashilthsa.com/news/2012-06-24/where-lisa-marie-family-continues-ask-decade-laterand http://www.hashilthsa.com/news/2012-05-15/family-seeks-closure-10-years-after-daughter%E2%80%99s-disappearance
Chief Councillor Braker acknowledged Martin in the crowd.
“We are hoping that one day your granddaughter is found,” Braker said.
Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council President Cliff Atleo Sr. rushed back from meetings in Duncan so that he could participate in the walk. New Vice President Ken Watts and family also took part, as did many employees of the tribal council.
During her address to the gathering, Foxcroft said she was pleased to see many men walking with the women. She said men have to be role models for their children to show them that men can be good partners and parents.
Foxcroft said she was very emotional at the start of the walk because of the violations that took place at the residential school.
“We are moving forward,” from that time, she said, adding that women cannot be thrown away like trash or garbage.
She said Nuu-chah-nulth women are proud and deserve to be cared for, looked after, cherished and respected. As of that day, the violence must stop, Foxcroft said.
Johnson said it is important to speak out against the violence that is occurring in the community. She said she would do what is within her power to ensure the safety and protection of mothers and girls within the community.
Sayers thanked the participants for walking through Hupacasath territory with their thoughts on the important concern of violence against women. She said those thoughts are now forever with the land and the people.
She too encouraged people to speak out against the violence; to not hide it but shine a light on it.
She ended the walk with a song to provide peace of mind. It was a song that came to her of people singing from the centre of the village. It was the ancestors singing “this is the place.”
