MMIWG2S vigil takes place in Vancouver Monday, marks national day of action

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — Monday marks the National Day of Action for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, and a vigil set for Vancouver is hoping to bring community together and raise awareness around the issue.

Lead Matriarch of the Pacific Association of First Nations Women’s Council, Diana Day, says the purpose of the vigil is to create awareness around the Indigenous lives that have been lost, and often overlooked.

“We’re looking at the calls for justice, and one of the calls is to create awareness and to have the levels of government speak out against it,” Day said. “We’ve invited all levels of government to attend, and we have representatives from the city.”

The National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls was released in 2019, which included 231 calls for justice. The final 1,200 page report called violence against First Nations, Metis and Inuit women and girls a form of “genocide” and a crisis that has been “centuries in the making.”

The vigil will include speakers from the community, including Kukpi7 Judy Wilson from the Union of BC Indian Chiefs, Deborah Baker from Squamish Nation, and family members of those who have been directly impacted by losses.

“Sheila Poorman will be speaking about her daughter, Chelsea Poorman, who went missing just over a year ago now from Vancouver, and most folks aren’t aware about that,” Day said. “It was just a terrible situation that happened with her family member missing … and in the lack of support that our women face, in particular.”

Poorman was 24 when she was last seen on Sept. 6, 2020. She left an apartment at Granville and Davie streets around midnight and hasn’t been seen since. Poorman had just moved to the city from Saskatoon to be with her sister. She’s described as having round cheeks, friendly brown eyes, and a noticeable limp.

Day says there are over 4,000 women who have been reported missing, with the majority of cases going unsolved.

“This issue is so important. And we also need to look at the inquiries, those calls for justice, and what’s happened with those reports.”

The two-hour vigil starts at 4:30 p.m. at City Hall and will be streamed on Facebook. Day says you can also show your solidarity by wearing red or hanging red dresses along your property.