Edmonton commemorates Sisters in Spirit Day

Edmonton's city hall on Sisters in Spirit Day. Photo by Ryan Hunt.

The City of Edmonton held a gathering and commemorative event at city hall to recognize Sisters in Spirit Day on Oct. 4.

The provincial government called for Oct. 4 to be recognized as Sisters in Spirit Day last year. For the second year, vigils and community events were organized and held in various cities in Alberta. They included ceremonies and walks in commemoration and memory of the more than 1,200 missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and gender diverse people across Canada.

In Edmonton, guest speakers spoke about the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and gender diverse people that happens right on our doorstep. The people who spoke at the event at City Hall featured Mayor Amarjeet Sohi, Rachelle Venne, CEO of Esquao, and Kari Thomason, the missing persons navigator within the missing persons unit in the historical crimes section of the Edmonton Police Service.

Thomason said in an interview with Windspeaker Radio Network, that the day is about “giving [missing and murdered] sacredness and letting everybody know we’re not going away.”

Kari Thomason speaking in front of the hundreds of people in Edmonton’s City Hall. Photo by Ryan Hunt.

The gathering held at Edmonton’s city hall saw hundreds of people supporting one cause, and Thomason said that it means everything to her to see the gathering take place. Her call to action is to have even more people support the cause and be loud about it.