Sisters in Spirit

Sisters in Spirit 2010:
A call for people of faith to stand with Indigenous women

On October 4, 2010, the Native Women's Association of Canada (NWAC) and its partners KAIROS, Amnesty International, the Canadian Federation of Students, and the National Association of Friendship Centres will host the fifth annual Sisters in Spirit vigil on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. They will join First Nations, Métis, and Inuit women and their supporters at vigils in communities across Canada to honour their missing and murdered sisters, daughters, mothers, grandmothers, and friends. Vigils and gatherings will also take place on the weekend before October 4 and throughout the year in locations across the country. Last year, thousands of people attended 72 vigils as part of this movement for social change. Together we call for immediate action to end violence against Indigenous women and girls.

Why Sisters in Spirit?

Indigenous women in all parts of Canada face shockingly high rates of violence. According to NWAC's research, more than 580 Aboriginal women and girls have gone missing or been murdered in Canada, most of them in the past two decades. Nearly half of murder cases involving Aboriginal women and girls remain unsolved; by contrast, as of 2005 84% of all homicide cases in Canada were cleared by police. While these numbers are startling, statistics cannot convey the profound impact that violence against women and girls has had, and continues to have, on Indigenous communities already traumatized by centuries of colonization and cultural assimilation. NWAC, through the Sisters in Spirit project, provides crucial research and support for all those affected by violence against Indigenous women.

Why us?

As people of faith and as Canadians, we are called to take action against racism, sexism, and violence, and to support justice for Indigenous women and their communities. As the churches and all Canadians enter the Truth and Reconciliation process and continue to find new ways to live as Treaty People, Sisters in Spirit gives us the chance to listen, learn, and act together.

Join us on October 4 and throughout the year as we stand in solidarity with NWAC, the families and friends of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, and supporters of right relations and reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. Contact Indigenous groups in your area to plan a vigil or other event, and get your faith community and wider community involved in listening, learning, and taking action.

Event details will be posted soon—watch this space.
To find out more about Sisters in Spirit, or to help organize a vigil in your community, please contact NWAC through their website at www.nwac.ca/programs/sis-vigils or by phoning 1-800-461-4043.