A candlelight vigil outside the Timmins Native Friendship Centre on Thursday honoured the almost 600 known missing or murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirited people in Canada.
Healing and wellness coordinator Jaylin Renaud (ruh-NO) told the gathering that the candles symbolize fire.
“The fire that burns inside of our spirits that brought us all here today,” she said, “and the fire that burns inside the spirits of those that we’ve lost, as a reminder to never stop using our voices.”
The vigil heard a call to action from a woman who was part of the Sixties Scoop and has devoted her life to finding her missing sister… and getting justice for her daughter-in-law who was murdered by an abusive, non-Indigenous partner.
Renaud added that participants were standing there as a commitment to fight, and to ensure at the local level that someone is advocating for violence-free lives for women and girls.
“Our voices are what’s building the foundation for healing, justice and reconciliation and for that, I’m forever grateful. We are brave and courageous. We are strong and resilient.”
She also said that everyone coming together as a community is “an extremely beautiful thing”.
The vigil heard a call to action from a woman who was part of the Sixties Scoop and has devoted her life to finding her missing sister, and getting justice for her daughter-in-law who was murdered by an abusive, non-Indigenous partner.
