Times Colonist - Oct 3, 2009

Summary

Times Colonist: Sat Oct 3, 2009 (Judith Lavoie) Vigil to honor slain, missing aboriginal women

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Vigil to honour slain, missing aboriginal women

Murdered and missing aboriginal women and girls will be remembered tomorrow in the annual Sisters in Spirit vigil at the legislature. More than 520 First Nations women who have been murdered or gone missing over the last three decades across the country will be remembered at 72 vigils. We want to honour the lives of these woman, whether they're aboriginal or from any other ethnic group. We don't want their lives to be forgotten," said Meghan Shannon, a University of Victoria student who is helping to organize the Victoria vigil. Three Vancouver Island women on the list of the missing and murdered are Belinda Ann Cameron of Esquimalt, who disappeared in May 2005, Lisa Marie Young of Nanaimo, who disappeared in June 2002 and Janet Henry of Alert Bay who disappeared in 1997. The Native Women's Association of Canada has documented the 520 cases, including those missing from the Highway of Tears — Highway 16 in northern B.C. where nine women have been murdered or have gone missing — but says more cases have likely yet to come to light. The vigil coincides with a report from Amnesty International citing a "shocking failure" by the federal government to stop the killing and disappearance of aboriginal women. The Victoria vigil will be held at 3 p.m. and participants are asked to wear black.