On Sunday, The Boathouse Tea Room held Guelph’s 3rd annual Sisters in Spirit Vigil. The vigil is held each year on October 4th across the country, remembering missing and murdered Aboriginal women and girls.
The event began with a performance by the Guelph Women’s Drumming Group, followed by some powerful words from Susan Aglukark, Juno award winning Inuk singer/songwriter. To Aglukark, the purpose of this gathering is “to fill in conversation gaps. That we need to facilitate quality conversations about the missing and murdered Aboriginal women. And to avoid unanswered question, we need to acknowledge and move forward by educating ourselves to find the answers we are looking for,” said Aglukark.
Stew Ross, local singer/songwriter, performed an original song for the vigil called “No More Silence” about women and girls who have gone missing. The song calls for those who listen to end the silence, and to take action in any way they can.
Introducing the song, Ross said “we are walking in a parallel process. The missing and murdered Aboriginal women and girls is a problem for everyone, it is not just a native problem.”
After the performances, the group filed outside to receive a candle and begin their walk to Marianne’s Park, where a moment of silence took place. The vigil concluded with one last performance by the Guelph Women’s Drumming Group, entitled the “Woman’s Warrior Song.” The drumming was simple and synchronized, with each woman in the group taking a turn to step forward and sing a lyric. During the last verse, as the drummers stopped and raised their sticks in the air, those in attendance raised their candles, and everyone sang the final verse together. Although there were cars going by and people going about their Sunday activities, the scene was strikingly beautiful and moving.
In March 2010, it was announced that 580 Aboriginal women and girls had been reported missing or murdered and today that number has increased to about 1200. The Sisters in Spirit Vigil brings attention toward this rising number and hopefully generates a discussion about how to reduce these numbers and stop the violence.