Memorial march: Lethbridge residents honour missing and murdered women and girls

Participants in the 2023 Lethbridge march honouring the lives of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.

Dressed in red and carrying posters, about a dozen people made their way through downtown Lethbridge on Tuesday to honour missing and murdered women, girls, two-spirited and LGBTQQIA people across Canada.

The Women's Memorial March began in 1992 in Vancouver's downtown eastside.

"They took to the streets and they marched on the streets saying 'these women, these girls, these LGBTQQIA people, they matter, their lives matter just as much as everyone else,'" said march organizer Tseten Drawu. "They're human, we're all human."

The march has been taking place in Lethbridge for 16 years.

It's held on Valentine's Day, and serves to show compassion, community and caring for all women.

"Nothing has really changed when it comes to Indigenous women, Indigenous men," said Drawu. "Nobody is listening."

Organizers say, to this day, Indigenous women disproportionately continue to go missing or be murdered with minimal to no action taken.

To pay tribute, Lethbridge's Indigenous Relations Office placed 4,000 red flags on the grounds of city hall.

"It's about creating awareness and information for community members and putting themselves in a place to understand what their own action may be," said Charlene Bruised Head Mountain-Horse, an Indigenous relations advisor with the city.

"The more we talk and help to share knowledge about the realities Indigenous women, girls and two-spirited people face, the more understanding we can achieve in our community."

Nationally, there are 1,724 confirmed deaths, but the National Inquiry of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls estimates more than 4,000 lives have been lost over the years.

Those attending the march are calling for change.

"Indigenous peoples, First Nations, Metis and Inuit people of this country, their lives matter.

"We are going to go look out and see what is going on. We are going to let the people know that their lives matter and that they deserve dignity, justice and respect,'' Drawu said.

In 2015, the City of Lethbridge implanted a work plan that included 25 recommendations and a series of projects aimed at addressing social, economic, cultural and institutional barriers facing Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ peoples in the community.