Fifth Annual Memorial and Feast- Toronto, March 12, 2006
This year instead of having posters of all of the Aboriginal women who are missing or murdered, we had baby, girls, and womens shoes pointing to the Western Doorway, representing that Aboriginal woman of all ages, once walked this earth, and now there are hundreds of shoes left unfilled by violence.
The shoes were later donated to an Aboriginal Women's Shelter.
This year the women of No More Silence Coalition, assisted tremendously in the preparation of food for the Feast, the tying of the Tobacco Ties everyone received, and in making sure the media was in attendance.
Krista, of No More Silence was available all morning to the media, prior to arriving at the Memorial site, and the media was asked to refrain from interviews during the Ceremonies, but to wait until the Feast or afterwards to interview family members.
Most of the media was very respectful of this, with the exception of the Toronto Sun reporter.
Opening Song
Mary Lou Smoke, a Respected Elder, and the sister of one of the murdered women, began the event with Opening comments and Prayer, followed by Manitou Kwe Singers, who sang the MikMaq Welcome Song.
Next, Amber gave a brief history of the vigils held weekly for a year, and the past four Memorial and Feasts.
Amber spoke of the hundreds of Aboriginal women across this country who have disappeared or who have been murdered, and about the impunity around these cases. She shared that, how, on February 14th, a 25 year old Aboriginal woman in Edmonton, named Juanita Cardinal, attended the Memorial March there, and a week later was stabbed to death in her own apartment, leaving behind a five year old daughter. There has not yet been an arrest in Juanita's murder.
Amber thanked everyone for their on-going support by attending the Memorial, reminding all in attendance there is still much to be done to end violence against Aboriginal women in this country.
Then, one by one, individuals came up and read off each and every name of every Aboriginal woman we know of, who has disappeared or have been murdered, dating back as far as 1965. The names read ranged in age of 10 weeks old to 85 years old.
It was extremely emotional, without a dry eye in the room, with the exception, perhaps of the Toronto Sun Reporter, who spent the entire time trying to get people to give him an interview!
Manitou Kwe Singers then drummed and sang the Strong Women's Song to honour the women who are missing, have been murdered, and to honour all women who are struggling today.
Next was by far, the most important part of the event. Family members read statements they wrote regarding the murders of their loved ones.
Laura Clarke, the daughter of Debbie Clarke, first read her statement, followed by a statement written by Eleanor Hands, the mother of Nicolle Hands who was brutally murdered in her Winnipeg home in 2003. Eleanor's statement was read by Nicolle's auntie Carol because Eleanor was too upset to read it herself. Then Amber read a statement written by her cousin whose daughter, Robert Pickton has been charged with murdering.
Manitou Kwe Singers then sang The Snake Medicine Song, for healing for the families involved.
After a brief break, "The Heart Has Its Own Memory" - A Video by Audrey Huntley and Folkard Fritz was shown. This video is an amazing documentation of family members of murdered Aboriginal women sharing their stories. It was shot and edited in a respectful way, which totally moves those who view it.
Diane then blessed the food and Tanya put together a Spirit Plate, and we then all enjoyed the Feast.
This was followed by the Auction. This year we had some amazing donations for the auction.
Each family member in attendance were then gifted with a small gift in a Giveaway. Family members in attendance included Laura Clarke and her beautiful daughter, Taylor, Dan and Mary Lou Smoke, Eleanor Hands and her sister Carol, Kathy Angus, Sue (sister of Deb Clarke) and her son Kyle and her daughter Nicole, and Amber.
Robyn Bourgeois, of No More Silence then did "Thank You's" to individuals who participated or who donated something for the event. Each person who contributed to this year's Memorial were gifted wtih Tobacco Ties and Sweet Grass Braids wrapped in white ribbon, which represents an end to Violence against Women.
Dan and Mary Lou Smoke, Respected Elders and brother in law and sister of Debbie Clarke, then presented Amber and Laura Clarke with identical white Eagle feathers from the same Eagle. This is something that is rarely seen and it was a great honour to receive such a beautiful and Sacred gift.
Dan then did the Closing Prayer, followed by he and Mary Lou drumming and singing the Mik Maq Honour Song.
Manitou Kwe Singers was joined by members of No More Silence singing the Travelling Song "our way" in which we do not drum during the last round, but let Deb Clarke drum for us from the Spirit World.
Deb shared often how she wished she could drum and sing, and this was one of her reasons for getting clean and sober for four months prior to her death... so that she could drum.
Manitou Kwe Singers always has Deb Clarke drum that last round for us when we sing this song.
Thank You/Miigwetch to the following individuals and groups who helped make this year's Memorial and Feast a successful one:
Families for attending and sharing their stories with us.
Name Readers: for volunteering their time to help us remember our Sisters.
Donors for Auction: Kerry Potts, Cheryl Miller of 'Africana', Jackie Thomas of 'Sou Sou Savings' , Tanya Anakons, Amber O’Hara, Barbara Williams, and Diane Montreuil of Running Deer Native Crafts.
OPIRG, Hilary MacKenzie and Can. Chiapanecas Justice 4 Women for financial donations for this year’s Feast.
Audrey Huntley for the way in which she conducted the interviews with family members for her documentaries for CBC and the sensitive creation of the amazing video and for sharing it with us today.
Members of No More Coaltion for help and preparation of Feast, helping to make the Tobacco Ties, etc., helping in this year’s Memorial being a successful one.
Kristin Schwartz and CKLN for on-going support and coverage of our events and Memorials.
And most importantly to the Spirits of our Sisters for not letting us forget.
CBC Radio, CKLN Radio, CP Press, and the Toronto Sun were in attendance and reported on the Fifth Annual Memorial and Feast.
I did not personally hear the CBC Radio or CKLN Radio coverage, but I heard both were good coverage of the event.
Below are the articles written by CP and Toronto Sun:
Native women's advocate to push Toronto police to reopen three unsolved cases
Lauren La Rose, Canadian Press
Published: Sunday, March 12, 2006
TORONTO (CP) - As family, friends and activists gathered to remember hundreds of aboriginal women and children slain or missing in Canada, a leading advocate for their cause revealed plans to press Toronto police for more information in the unsolved cases of three native women.
First Nations researcher, writer and activist Amber O'Hara will be pushing Toronto police to reopen the case of her friend, Debbie Sloss-Clarke, 42, was found dead in her rented room on July 29, 1997.
O'Hara said while the police report defined Sloss-Clarke's case as sudden death with alcohol and/or drug consumption as the cause, a toxicology report dated Sept. 8, 1997, showed no drugs were found in her system, and only a small amount of alcohol in her blood, likely from her body's decomposition.
"There's no peace until justice is served," O'Hara said. "There's no peace for the mothers, the daughters, the grandchildren."
O'Hara will be joined by members of the No More Silence Network, a coalition of individuals and organizations seeking to restore justice to indigenous communities, to push for action in the cases of Margaret Guylee, who disappeared in 1965, and Vivian Cada, found stabbed to death last June.
"The status quo in terms of violence against aboriginal people is silence," said Robyn Bourgeois of the No More Silence Network.
"It took 50 women to disappear from the downtown Eastside (in Vancouver) before anybody did anything," Bourgeois said.
Police in British Columbia are probing the disappearance of at least 68 women from Vancouver over two decades. Pig farmer Robert Pickton has been charged with killing 26 women, many of whom were prostitutes.
Close to 60 people gathered in Toronto on Sunday at a co-op near the city's downtown core for the fifth annual native women's memorial and feast, honouring the scores of women whose deaths remain unsolved or who have disappeared without a trace. Volunteers read the names of 360 women and children - some as young as 18 months old - from across the country over three decades, who have been slain or disappeared.
Eleanor Hands, of Kingston, Ont., came to represent her adopted daughter Nicolle. The 33-year-old mother of three was found stabbed five times in her Winnipeg apartment in October 2003. Hands said she calls Winnipeg homicide monthly to get updates on the case.
"I want to be able to tell Nicolle's children that somebody is in jail for taking Mommy from them," Hands said. "All I can do is hope someday soon an arrest will be made."
Bourgeois said it's time to stop seeing aboriginal women as "deviant outsiders" of society. "Not all aboriginal women are prostitutes, drug addicts or homeless," Bourgeois said. "The bottom line is if you have a loved one and they disappear, it doesn't matter what they are, you want to be taken seriously.
"For aboriginal women, because of this perceived deviance, that's not happening," she said, adding aboriginals are still treated as second-class citizens.
A poignant statement read by O'Hara on behalf of her cousin, the mother of one of Pickton's alleged victims, called for equality in the rendering of justice for native women. "I pray that these killings will end," O'Hara read. "I pray that justice will be served. One death is one too many."
© The Canadian Press 2006
Based on the same interview given at the same time the interview with the CP reporter was given, this is the Toronto Sun article:
Activist: Native women deserve more
By TOM GODFREY, TORONTO SUN
Monday, March 13, 2006
Activist Waabnong Kwe is on a mission to help bring dignity to hundreds of dead or missing native women.
The names of more than 360 such aboriginal women, including about 25 from Ontario, were read yesterday to a room full of teary eyes at the fifth annual memorial and feast by the No More Silence Coalition.
"In this country, aboriginal women die all the time and nobody cares," Kwe told a packed room at Oak Street Housing Co-op on Cornwall St. "They are treated as second class citizens."
In nearly all cases involving murdered aboriginal women there are no arrests, she said.
Kwe and members of her group will be meeting with Toronto Police this week to try to have three cases they consider to be suspicious deaths reopened.
"There is a perception that most aboriginal women are prostitutes and homeless," she said. "We are trying to change that attitude."
The coalition is hoping police will relaunch an investigation into the 1979 death in Toronto of Debbie Floss* Clarke, of northern Ontario.
Kwe also wants a second look taken at the death of Margaret Guylee, who was * found dead in Toronto in 1965, and that of Vivian Cado,* 52, who was stabbed on Sherbourne St. last June.
NOTE: Our apologies to the families of Debbie Sloss-Clarke and Vivian Cada, for this reporter being so careless in the reporting of your loved ones last names.
NOTE ALSO that this reporter was not told that Margaret Guylee was murdered in Toronto in 1965. He was clearly told that Margaret Guylee disappeared in Toronto in 1965. In fact, Ms. Guylee's body has never been found.
We apologize to the families for this shoddy reporting by the Sun reporter.
Other pictures from the Fifth Annual Memorial and Feast
Flowers
The Names
Dan and Mary Lou Smoke
Manitou Kwe singing the Mik Maq Welcome Song
Opening Statement
Travelling Song
No More Silence members singing
Smoke-Clarke Family and Amber
Travelling Song
Click the following links to view more cases
Main Missing/Murdered Native Women page
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BC - Continued
ONTARIO
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PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND
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SUCCESS STORIES
Other Native Women Killed in Canada
QUEBEC
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AMERICAN CASES
URGENT CALL TO ACTION!
MANITOU KWE SINGERS
Women's Memorial Quilt
Dreams/Visions about the Vancouver Missing Women case
Beaded White Ribbons for Sale (FUNDRAISER FOR QUILT)
Fifth Annual Memorial
Success Stories
Toronto's Memorial Nov. 16, 2002
DTES Vancouver Missing Women
Mainland Vancouver women murdered during the same time frame
OTHER LINKS
Sex Trade Workers of Canada
Missing Women Poster
Vancouver Magazine
Toronto Star article, Nov. 30, 2002
America's Most Wanted
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