“Every day, families, friends and members of Indigenous communities mourn the loss of sisters, mothers, loved ones and children who have gone missing or whose lives have been violently cut short or forever changed. Despite their grief, despite the pain and injustices they face, they continue to raise their voices in remembrance and call for an end to this ongoing crisis.
“Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQI+ people have the right to live in safety and in peace. Progress is being made to address this, but we must do more. We must take action to address the inequities that persist in our society. We must ensure equal treatment, respect and protection for all.
“Today, let us stand united in compassion with mourning communities. And let us stand together against gender-based violence
These are the words of Governor General Mary Simon, today on Oct. 4, 2025 – The National Day of Action for the Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women, Girls, and 2SLGBTQIA+ people.
Violet Sangris, executive director of the Native Women’s Association, says the Sisters in Spirit vigil will take place at their main site on 49th street in the city of Yellowknife from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. this evening.
The candlelight vigil will be held to honour of the lives of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and 2SLGBTQIA+ persons.
Here too, in the territory, the Missing and Murdered are remembered daily by the many people who knew them and the many who feel connected to them.
Tuppittia, who is an Indigenous woman living in Yellowknife, said that healing needs to happen at the grassroots level.
“I think the families in the homes, in the communities have to get strong. There are unresolved issues about residential schools and family breakdowns,” said Tuppittia.
Tuppittia works in community outreach and said that from what she has seen in her experience, more resources need to be made available to make healing possible.
“If that could be healed – for people that have actual Missing and Murdered family members, if there were community-based healing, community-based resources….I don’t think they really exist right now.”
Having more community-grown and community based resources in Indigenous communities could help to create a greater sense of safety.
“Especially in our relationships with the government services, policing… that needs a lot of healing too because people are still not comfortable reporting to the police, who are the first responders,” she said.
Government services could be transferred to the community level, such as having police services overseen by First Nations communities.
“I think it has to be focused beginning at the homes in the communities, that’s what I think,” she added.
More resources need to be made available to families of the Missing and Murdered, said Tuppittia.
“RCMP is overworked, their resources are stretched so thin,” said Tuppittia.
Tuppittia explained that having resources and expertise to search is a bigger challenge in smaller communities, where the resources to do that kind of work are not accessible.
There seems to be a division between how Indigenous and non-Indigenous people are treated.
There’s also the problem of incarceration. Across the country, Indigenous people are wrongly convicted and imprisoned at disproportionate levels. The federal Public Prosecution Service has acknowledged this and documented the trend as a major issue and made recommendations to change the way the justice system operates, but barriers of systemic racism, colonialism and discrimination continue. Disproportionate rates of Indigenous women have been denied bail, which has been cited by legal experts as another reason why they face much higher rates of wrongful convictions.
“There’s many broke people out there, a lot of them Indigenous people,” said Tuppittia, who pointed to the imbalances in how Indigenous people seem to be treated by the system.
“When they finish their jail term, they don’t go back to their community….they end up being in the system where many of the women now end up being unhoused and in danger,” Tuppittia said.
When someone is wrongfully convicted or treated like a second-class citizen, that can translate into difficulty accessing resources, even once the person comes out of incarceration.
“They lose contact with their homebase,” explained Tuppittia. Without that connection to their homebase, they lose their lifeline to resources, to family, to their community and culture.
These are people who have so much to offer the world, who are rich with knowledge, yet they are too often unseen.
“There are so many very intelligent, very talented people walking around. They’re bored in the city. They’ve got no job. They got no resources for their particular talents,” said Tuppittia.
“I think (it goes back to) the healing portion of it, it has to happen at the community roots, from the community based healing programs, instead of having the national level healing program, trickle down and trickle down to the community and by the time it gets there it’s a few cents.”
A locally based database, a living record documenting cases of the Missing and Murdered could help community members and allies mobilize, suggested Tuppittia.
“I really think it has to be community-based, community grown.”
“Often, we don’t hear until years later and realize that a person was Missing or Murdered.”
Shalbe Betsina said more needs to be done to find the Missing and Murdered, for the sake of the whole community.
“I think they should look more into it, the investigations, to find more Indigenous people and women,” said Betsina.
“That way we’ll have more peace.” added Betsina.
Betsina said there should be more investment into resources for outreach and other programs to help Indigenous persons who are at risk.
Betsina also pointed to the rising cost of living as connected to the MMIWG2S crisis.
With the cost of living rising substantially in the last few years alone, the risk of homelessness and being underhoused has increased for women, girls, Two Spirit and 2SLGBTQQIA+, boys and men.
Erin, who lives in Yellowknife and is originally from the Philippines, said that it’s important to recognize the MMIWG2S crisis.
“It’s definitely sad coming from an immigrant family. I’m from the Philippines. So the country itself, was invaded for a long time. And I could kind of relate to what happened here in Canada,” explained Erin.
“I’m happy to see that there’s more recognition to what’s happening now,” said Erin.
Having days of commemoration and action, like the National Day of Action and Truth and Reconciliation Day, are a good step towards acknowledging what is happening and raising awareness, said Erin.
Minister Mandy Gull-Masty, Minister Rebecca Alty, Minister Rebecca Chartrand and Minister Rechie Valdez issued a joint statement today:
“Today, we honour the lives, memories, and spirits of the thousands of Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQI+ people who have gone missing or been murdered. We acknowledge the brave work of the survivors, families, and communities who continue to carry immense pain and loss as they seek justice, healing, and safety. We are united in our dedication to ending this national crisis.”
The ministers acknowledged that the most important work is being led by Indigenous people at the community level.
