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Edmonton commemorates Sisters in Spirit Day — police representative says there is more work needed to be done

Posters frame a square in a white room leading up to a chamber with white pillars and two paintings.
Edmonton's city hall on Sisters in Spirit Day. Photo by Ryan Hunt.
Ryan Hunt - CFWE - Edmonton • AL | 06-10-2023
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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 CFWE, that the day is about "giving [missing and murdered] sacredness and letting everybody know we're not going away."

Missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and gender diverse people has been an issue for decades. Thomason says that the progress towards bringing an end to the epidemic has been "far from being acceptable."
"We know we have a lot of stolen sisters out there; we know we have a lot of stolen brothers. But the highlight was never recognized. A lot of missing persons from surrounding areas still have to fight to get their loved ones missing," Thomason said.
Kari Thomason stands in front of a podium, with several missing and murdered posters behind her.

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.

"The support is immense, but it's same old, same old. It's mainly our people coming to these events, and where's the non-aboriginal community in support of these events? We need to have more ethnicities showing up, putting recognition, and them giving honor to our people as well," Thomason said.
Listen to the full CFWE interview with Kari Thomason below:
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