Advocates took to Highway 16 in Terrace on Valentine鈥檚 Day alongside the families of missing and murdered people.
Dressed in red and singing, the group occupied one lane of the highway between Eby and Kenney streets from noon to around 1 p.m., finishing their walk at the Tillicum Twin Theatres.
Gladys Radek, a life-long advocate since her niece Tamara Chipman disappeared in 2005, said it鈥檚 a way to empower the whole community, especially women, girls and youth.
鈥淭his is a day for us to honour our loved ones gone, and to let them know that they鈥檙e not forgotten, whether they be women and girls or boys and men.鈥�
Hilary Lightening joined the group to stand in solidarity with grieving families.
鈥淲e decided to take to the highway just to continue to show our support for the families and friends who are missing loved ones, who have gone missing or been murdered on the Highway of Tears.
鈥淚 just come out to support, to be visible and make sure people don鈥檛 forget that there鈥檚 still work to be done and calls for justice to be answered.鈥�
The protest walk was organized by the Tears to Hope Society as part of an annual day of action for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
The Women鈥檚 Memorial March has been happening since 1992, when it started in Vancouver鈥檚 Downtown Eastside, Radek added, with similar events now organized around B.C. on Feb 14.
鈥淣ow, as you know, we鈥檙e all here on the Highway of Tears. We have several missing and murdered women up here, and the vast majority of them are unsolved and still missing.鈥�
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michael.willcock@terracestandard.com
