By Alexandra Mehl, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter HA-SHILTH-SA

For more than three decades, Valentine91裸聊视频檚 Day in Vancouver91裸聊视频檚 Downtown Eastside (DTES) has been marked with the commemoration of Indigenous women and girls who are missing and murdered.

But women and girls continue to be missing and murdered, leading family members and advocates to say not enough is being done to protect Indigenous people.

Sheridan Martin of Gitxsan Nation attended this year91裸聊视频檚 memorial march with her mother, daughter and granddaughter to honor her sister, Cindy Martin, who went missing in 2018. For five years no one knew what happened to Cindy, but on Aug. 9 of 2023 Cindy91裸聊视频檚 remains were discovered.

91裸聊视频淚f you rewind it 20 years ago, Cindy was the one that brought us here,91裸聊视频� said Sheridan of the DTES Memorial March, adding that Cindy was involved in advocating for missing and murdered women and girls.

Cindy had lived in Vancouver working as an Indigenous advocate for the school board and teaching Indigenous women and girls from the Downtown Eastside how to drum and sing. But at the time of her murder, she was in her hometown in northern B.C.

91裸聊视频淭his is important for me, because the murdered and missing Indigenous women started going missing in, probably, 1970,91裸聊视频� said Sheridan. 91裸聊视频淔ast forward to 2024, and it hasn91裸聊视频檛 slowed down.91裸聊视频�

According to Statistics Canada, 490 Indigenous women and girls were murdered between 2009 and 2021, translating to a rate that is six times higher than non-Indigenous women.

Indigenous women and girls are overrepresented as victims of homicide. During this time period they made up almost three per cent of Canada91裸聊视频檚 population, Statistics Canada reads, while accounting for between five and seven per cent of victims.

91裸聊视频淚91裸聊视频檓 highly aware that my granddaughter can go missing because she91裸聊视频檚 Indigenous,91裸聊视频� said Sheradan. 91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 about my daughter going missing because she91裸聊视频檚 Indigenous, because she91裸聊视频檚 a woman, because she91裸聊视频檚 a female.91裸聊视频�

Karen Williams of Gitxsan was at the march in memory of her sister, Alberta Williams, who went missing in 1989.

91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 very uplifting, very uplifting and positive,91裸聊视频� said Williams of the Memorial March. 91裸聊视频淭o come and support one another.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淚ndigenous women are not valued as women in a place where it91裸聊视频檚 our land,91裸聊视频� said Williams. 91裸聊视频淲e should be standing together to stop that.91裸聊视频�

Carol Martin has worked in the DTES women91裸聊视频檚 centre and been involved in the Memorial March since it began.

91裸聊视频淲omen still to this day continue to go missing, nothing has really changed,91裸聊视频� said Martin.

91裸聊视频淭his whole platform is to bring awareness that things haven91裸聊视频檛 changed for us Indigenous women, our sacred givers of life. They91裸聊视频檙e to be honored, they91裸聊视频檙e to be respected.91裸聊视频�

But Martin shared that Canada needs to shift the way Indigenous women are thought of.

91裸聊视频淲hen the media starts talking about these things, the first thing they say is she was a working girl, or she lived a high-risk lifestyle,91裸聊视频� said Martin.

91裸聊视频淚 think at birth, we91裸聊视频檙e at a high-risk,91裸聊视频� Martin added, 91裸聊视频渓ifestyle as Indigenous women.91裸聊视频�

The Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls was published in 2019. Since then, Martin said that there has been very slow progress.

91裸聊视频淲here91裸聊视频檚 the response from the government?91裸聊视频� she said. 91裸聊视频淭he work is not being put into place to make those changes, and it needs to happen soon.91裸聊视频�

For Sheridan Martin, layers of oppression, poverty and systemic racism need to be addressed to stop Indigenous women and girls from going missing.

91裸聊视频淗ow do we start peeling those layers back and really taking a look at how humanity has treated our Indigenous women and girls,91裸聊视频� said Sheridan.

91裸聊视频淲e have to stop them from going missing,91裸聊视频� added Sheradin. 91裸聊视频淗ow do we put the face of humanity on each Indigenous woman and girl so they91裸聊视频檙e not looked at as something to be killed and discarded?91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淚f we stand in solidarity, we become a louder voice,91裸聊视频� she continued. 91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 not just one voice or thousands of voices, this march is sending out a message across Canada.91裸聊视频�

Sheridan hopes that in her granddaughter91裸聊视频檚 life she sees changes and that there no longer Indigenous people going missing and being murdered.

91裸聊视频淚 see that hope is still surviving, and hoping to find justice for what happened to the women - especially at the Pickton farm,91裸聊视频� said Carol, as she explained the yellow roses used in the march represent hope.

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