Vigil raises awareness of missing/murdered women

Page 2

A 24-hour candlelight vigil was held June 21 at the University of Alberta for missing or murdered women. The vigil was organized by the School of Native Studies at the university and the Institute for the Advancement of Aboriginal Women (IAAW).

The evening included a march around campus and speeches by community leaders.

The women, often Aboriginal and generally dismissed as sex trade workers, are overlooked by the public and the media. It is the responsibility of Aboriginal people to keep this and other issues in the public eye, said Val Napoleon, an assistant professor of law and Native studies at the university.

The purpose of the vigil was to facilitate awareness, education, and action to make Edmonton a safer place for women and their families.

"Too long we have been ignored or left to die," said Muriel Stanley-Venne, president of the IAAW. "It is very meaningful and very significant to honor the women who have been murdered and are missing, and to honor the grief that lives in our community.

"In 1991, Connie Dieter-Buffalo wrote an article on the deaths of the women in Montreal (at Ecole Polytechnic)-the Montreal Massacre. In that paragraph she wrote 'No candlelight vigils for our women. Our women are found in a motel room, in a house, in a gravel pit, or in a shallow grave just outside of town.' Very moving."

Stanley-Venne said the number of deaths of Aboriginal women is just as bad now as it was in 1991.

"To have a candlelight vigil for our women is very important."

Dr. Ellen Bielawski, dean of the School of Native Studies, said she wanted to hold the vigil because it is very difficult to get Aboriginal women on anybody's agenda.

It is important to have the vigil at night because that is the time when women are most at risk, she said.

On June 17, as a part of the Project KARE initiative that seeks to solve a long list of murdered women cases , RCMP in Edmonton announced a $100,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the deaths of those victims meeting its mandate. RCMP also announced they believe they are dealing with a "serial offender" in the Edmonton area.

Project KARE is a RCMP investigation started in October 2003. Its purpose is to combine several current investigations involving the deaths of victims in the Edmonton area. There are currently 23 RCMP and four Edmonton Police Service investigators assigned to Project KARE with a total staff of 43. Bielawski thinks that the reward is a step in the right direction and that it has been a long time coming.

But Stanley-Venne said she is "offended that they use the word 'serial offender.'"

"This is not an offender. This is a killer of women," she said. "Right off the bat they are pussy-footing around. I have advocated for extraordinary measures to deal with this. In the U.S. on 9/11 they came up with extraordinary measures. It's time for action now, extraordinary action."

Page 3