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Sisters in Spirit vigils mourn missing murdered Indigenous women Tuesday October 6 2015 7 JUSTICE MISSING MURDERED INDIGENOUS WOMEN NORTHERN OWNED AND OPERATRED FIRE PREVENTION SERVICES LTD. 1 Melville Drive P.O. Box 2422 Yellowknife NT X1A 2P8 Phone 867 873-3800 TOLL FREE in NWT Nunavut 1 888 202-4091 www.ykfireprevention.ca Design Install Verify Inspect Maintain Fire Alarm Systems Sprinkler Systems Industrial Commercial Special Hazards Fire Suppression Systems Portable Fire Extinguishers Training Fire Protection Products Services Protecting your people and property with fire protection systems that are efficient effective and reliable. THANKINGvolunteers and firefighters across the North this Fire Prevention Week. Fire Prevention Services Ltd. is the Norths only full service company offering design installation and servicing of all your fire protection system requirements. THANK YOU FIREFIGHTERS Fort Smith appreciates your dedication to keeping our Town safe. WALLYS Drugs Pharmacy . Souvenirs . Magazines . Newspapers Toys . Cards . Stationery . Lottery Ticket Centre Monday to Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday CLOSED 867 872-213468 Breynat St. Fort Smith By DALI CARMICHAEL Advocates across the country gathered at vigils over the weekend in honour of the Sis- ters in Spirit movement in remembrance of missing and murdered indigenous women. Thisyearmarkedthevigils10thanniversary. The Native Womens Association of Can- ada has been doing research for a long time said Marilyn Napier a long time volunteer with the association and speaker at the com- munityvigil.Howeverpartwaythroughtheir research the RCMP took their information away. Since then the information that they gatheredwasapproximately380womenmiss- ing and murdered across Canadas provinces and territories. Women who have been mur- dered who could have been our sisters our aunties our nieces and those family relatives that have left and never returned. The candle lighting ceremony and vigil was quiet and intimate in Fort Smith. After saying a few prayers the small group remembered local cases of lost women over bowls of stew. Inourowntownwehavefoundthereissome missingwomenmurderedwomen.Somedont want to admit it but its a fact Napier said. She took special care to remember one individual whose death had never been ad- dressed at the annual vigils. In the early 1980s Helen Heron was killed in Fort Smith. No one is quite sure how she died. She was murdered alongside the road in thistownandtothisdaynothinghaseverhap- penedtothatNapiernoted.Nothinghasever comeofitandIprayforher.Iprayforhersoul that one day something may happen that we can get that person or persons who did that. Helens story is one of many across Canada aboutmissingandmurderedIndigenouswomen whose cases have not been solved. RCMP have countedabout1181casesofmurderedormiss- ing Indigenous women since 1980. Dene National Chief Bill Erasmus attended a vigil held at Samba Ke Park in Yellowknife the afternoon of Oct. 2. Everylifematters.Weneedtomeaningfully address the issue through a comprehensive national inquiry Erasmus said in a release. We need a national action plan that is nec- essary to address the scale and severity of violence faced by Indigenous women. Indig- enous nations are calling for a crucial but co- ordinated and demanding step to be taken by all levels of government to come forward on such a move. Napier agreed with the sentiment and asked folks attending the vigil to reach out to their government to indicate their desire for an inquiry. The NWAC and other womens groups such as sisters in spirit unknown faces un- known sisters - are working together to lobby the governments again to go into the inquiry. Politicians continue to say its on the table its on our agenda thats what we want to ght for but in the end what happens when they get elected in We are forgotten Napier said. Today if you can write to your MP and ask them. Just in pencil and paper please open up an inquiry into missing and murdered Ab- originalwomenof Canada.Thatsall we need. PhotosDaliCarmichael Marilyn Napier left addresses the crowd at the Fort Smith Sisters in Spirit vigil Oct. 4. Eileen Beaver left Sarah Robson and Kimberley Lusty work together to block the wind and light materials for a smudge.