Dozens of nations came together in the North Okanagan for what amounted to a collective rally cry against one of Canada's darkest chapters 香蕉视频直播� one that's still being written today, and one that local First Nations activists are attempting to punctuate with justice.
More than 200 people filled the Splatsin Community Centre Thursday, May 1, for a gathering to address the hundreds of Indigenous women, girls and two-spirited people who have gone missing and murdered in Canada, with a particular focus on local missing and murdered cases.
Splatsin's Jody Leon, who organized the event, called it a "historic" inter-nation gathering between the 35 Interior Salish nations, adding an event like this hasn't happened since the 19th century. The gathering was also historic in that it was a collaboration between Indigenous governments and the City of Enderby, who joined forces in a call for justice.
The event took on serious tones from the moment bear and jingle dancers made their way to centre stage. It was held four days before Red Dress Day (Monday, May 5), when people around the world will promote remembrance and activism for the lives of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirit People (MMIWG2S). Accordingly, a number of women wearing red followed behind the dancers, their dresses signifying slogans such as 'No more stolen sisters,' and 'Gone but not forgotten.'
The rally focused on two local women who have been missing for years: . Wertz was last seen on Yankee Flats Road in July 2016. She was 46. Potts was 27 and enrolled in addiction services when she went missing from Enderby in February 2016, with an investigation into her disappearance having yielded no results to date. The RCMP suspect foul play and in May 2017 released a surveillance video of Potts entering the Kelowna mall.
At the event, Leon renewed calls for information on the cases of Wertz and Potts.
She also renewed a call for people to come forward with information on Vernon's Traci Genereaux, who went missing at the age of 18 in May 2017 and whose remains were found in October of that year on the Salmon River Road farm where Curtis Sagmoen was living. Sagmoen, who was never charged in relation to Genereaux's death, was in a Vernon motel on April 10. His death, Leon said, sparks hope that someone out there will be less fearful to come forward with information about the Genereaux case.
Candy Merlo, Genereaux's aunt, offered the crowd a detailed account of what is known about the Vernon teen's death and the crimes of Sagmoen, who had been convicted multiple times of violence and threats towards sex trade workers.
Like Potts, Merlo said Genereaux was a vulnerable young woman.
She said the last time women disappeared in clusters and human remains were found on a farm was 15 years ago in Maple Ridge, referring to the case of convicted serial killer , who preyed on the vulnerable women of Vancouver's downtown Eastside. The DNA of 33 women were found on his farm. He died in May 2024.
Sue Brown, a Vancouver lawyer known for her role in advocating for the preservation of evidence related to the Pickton case, spoke at Thursday's event by video conference. She told the crowd her advocacy is for the fundamental rights that every woman and girl is entitled to in Canada and beyond.
"This fight for the rights and equality of Indigenous women and girls in the country and all over the world is being led by Indigenous women and girls," Brown said.
Brown is part of the Justice for Girls organization, which has been around in B.C. since 1999 and is founded on the understanding that "violence against teenage girls, particularly Indigenous teenage girls and girls who live in poverty, is one of the single greatest threats to their human rights locally, nationally and internationally," she said.
"In the work that we've done over the past 26 years, we've observed that almost exclusively Indigenous girls' cases are not taken seriously by the police, they're not taken seriously by our courts, by our judges and by our policy makers," Brown added,
Grand Chief Stewart Phillip drove up from Vancouver to attend the event. He spent a moment remarking on the Splatsin Centre, a building he marvels at every time he visits it.
"I love what this building represents," he said. "It represents community, it represents bringing people together, it represents the truth, the centre of our truth.
"We have been brutally sideswiped by colonialism and everything that colonialism represents," the Grand Chief continued. "It's been going on for hundreds and hundreds of years, and we are beginning to show up, speak up and stand up, and that is so wonderful to see our people doing that."
The event also served as a campaign against opioids, which have ravaged Indigenous communities with overdoses in recent years. One strongly-worded T-shirt calling for an end to the overdose epidemic was being sold alongside a red MMIWG2S T-shirt.
Leon told The Morning Star that stronger efforts are needed to curb overdoses, especially in light of the having been busted in nearby Falkland last fall.
Splatsin chief and council, as well as City of Enderby councillors, attended the event.
