The Native Women’s Association of Canada Encourages Canadians to host
Sisters In Spirit Vigils to Honour Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women and
Girls

OTTAWA, Sept. 28 /CNW/ - Aboriginal women and girls are facing the most pervasive human rights crisis in Canada today. In effort to address the issue, the Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) is encouraging Canadians to take action by hosting or taking part in a Sisters In Spirit Vigil on October 4th 2010.

October 4th is a day to honour the lives of missing and murdered Aboriginal women and girls and their families. Sisters In Spirit Vigils began in 2006 with the courage, strength and love of families who suffered the loss of a sister, daughter, mother, grandmother or friend. As of March 31st 2010 NWAC has found 582 cases of missing and murdered Aboriginal women and girls. As Canadians we should ask ourselves why so many of our Aboriginal sisters continue to go missing and fall victim to homicide seven times more often than non-Aboriginal women. 2010 is the fifth year of the Vigil movement; let’s make 2010 the year Canadians finally take concrete action to defend the lives of Aboriginal women and girls.

NWAC and its national partners KAIROS, Amnesty International, the Canadian Federation of Students, National Association of Friendship Centers, Canadian Union of Postal Workers, Assembly of First Nations and the Ottawa SIS Vigil committee will host the fifth annual Sisters In Spirit vigil in Ottawa, on October 4th on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. SIS vigils will also be organized in at least 78 communities across Canada to help honour the lives of missing and murdered Aboriginal women and girls.

As the Native Women’s Association of Canada’s president Jeannette Corbiere Lavell says, “While NWAC is pleased that an increase in public awareness of the issue of missing and murdered Aboriginal women is starting to resonate with all Canadians, there is still more that needs to be done. By hosting or attending a vigil in your community, you will show support to families and honour the lives of Aboriginal women and girls we have lost to violence. This is an important opportunity to help us continue to raise awareness, and mobilize for change.”

In Ottawa, the national SIS Vigil will begin at 12 p.m. on Parliament Hill with a community feast to follow at The Church of St. John the Evangelist at 1:30 p.m. - 3p.m. (154 Somerset Street West, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K2P 0H8).

For more information or to learn how to host or support a SIS Vigil in your community please visit one of the following links:

http://www.nwac.ca/2010-sisters-spirit-vigils
SIS Vigils Facebook page

MEDIA ADVISORY
5th Annual Ottawa Sisters In Spirit Vigil 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(September 28, 2010) The Native Women’s Association of Canada will be holding the 5th Annual Sisters In Spirit Vigil in Ottawa on October 4th, 2010 on Parliament Hill, with a rally beginning at 12 p.m. All those who are in attendance are welcome to attend a community feast beginning at 1:30 p.m. at The Church of St. John the Evangelist located at 154 Somerset Street West, Ottawa.

What: The 5th Annual Ottawa Sisters In Spirit Vigil 2010

Who: All those wishing to honour missing and murdered Aboriginal women and girls and their families in Canada.

When: 12-3 p.m. October 4th, 2010

Where: Rally at Parliament Hill with a community feast to follow at The Church of St. John the Evangelist (154 Somerset Street West, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K2P 0H8)

For further information:

Andrea Ruttan
Communications Officer
Phone: [phone] Mobile: [phone]
Email: [email protected]