Merrittonians March for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women

Locals March through Merritt | Joey Jones Photography

Feb 15, 2024 | 6:45 AM Vern Strecheniuk

MERRITT — There was a Women’s Memorial Watch to honor “Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two Spirited People” yesterday in Merritt.

The gathering happened around noon and the walk will start around 12:15 p.m. (Wednesday, February 14, 2024.)

The meeting point was at Rotary Park and began with speeches and a traditional drum ceremony as everyone gathered in a circle.

The march would go through Voght Street, Nicola Ave, Chartres Street, and Coutlee Ave.

Everyone then headed back through Voght Street then back to Rotary Park.

While the temperature was a chilling minus 13, around fifty people braved the cold to spread awareness of a situation happening in British Columbia for far too long.

Firefighters and police helped escort the parade as sunny as clear skies helped make things a little easier for those marching.

There were Ribbon skirts on display and red shirts, drums and flags.

Missing Indigenous women and girls is an issue that has plagued British Columbia and Canada for decades.

One such constant has been the “Highway of Tears” a 700 kilometers stretch of Highway 16 from Prince George to Prince Rupert, British Columbia, which has been the site of the murder and disappearance of a number of mainly Indigenous women since 1969.

Approximately 40 missing reports have occurred there with around 13 involving teenagers.

The National Crime Information Center has reported nearly 6000 missing Indigenous women and girls so far, which is almost the entire population of Merritt.

There will be another march in May as Red Dress Day (May 5th) honors the thousands missing by encouraging learning and building awareness to end the violence once and for all and try to keep the conversation relevant.

Red Dress Day was first recognized in 2010.

Marching and continuing awareness keeps people from forgetting these tragedies and puts pressure on the province to find a way to improve safety in general.