This week Medicine Hat is hosting two events for murdered and missing Indigenous women, including a Memorial March on Thursday and a Memorial Walk on Saturday. Residents are seen participating in an awareness walk on the National Day of Awareness for Murdered or Missing Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirit People during a public gathering and ceremony held at Medicine Hat College on May 5, 2025.--NEWS FILE PHOTO
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Medicine Hat College and the Miywasin Friendship Centre will host a Memorial March on Thursday for missing and murdered Indigenous women prior to hosting a Memorial Walk at city hall on Saturday.
According to the final report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, Indigenous women in Canada are three times more likely to be victims of violence than non-Indigenous women.
MMIWG2S walks are held to raise awareness around the crisis and provide resources, information and healing methods for victims and families.
“It’s a big deal for building a social awareness for essentially an underrepresented issue that’s been going on for a long time,” said Mekethia Fairbanks with the Miywasin Friendship Centre, who explained the walks of solidarity are held to raise awareness within the non-Indigenous community.
“We’re here to raise awareness for our women, talk about it, create discussion, create dialogue for it,” said Fairbanks. “It’s just a way of building awareness for the non Indigenous community, trying to build ally-ship, build partnership with the community and raise awareness.”
Participants who take part in the walks are encouraged to wear a red dress or red clothing to show solidarity and acknowledgement of the crisis, and everyone is encouraged to honour the lives of Indigenous women, girls and Two-Spirit people who have been murdered or remain missing.
“Ignorance is, most of the time, it’s the enemy,” added Fairbanks.
In a time period between 1980 and 2012 in Alberta 206 Indigenous women were murdered, accounting for 28 per cent of all female homicide victims in that period of 32 years.
“Once they know about the statistics, they know about the effects of settler colonization on the Indigenous people in Canada, we can build partnerships and collaborate.”
Locally, Fairbanks says residents in Medicine Hat are open to reconciliation and building relationships, and she expects a good turnout at both walks.
“There’s lots of people in the city who are very, very open to reconciliation. They’re very open to building relationships together, doing collaborative projects and events … The Indigenous people who are here, we’re very small, but we’re very strong together.”
The MMIWG2S Memorial March begins at Centennial Hall at Medicine Hat College on Thursday at noon. Participants will walk to the nearest Trans-Canada Highway overpass before concluding at the college at 2 p.m.
The MMIWG2S Memorial Walk “No More Stolen Sisters” runs Saturday from noon to 1:30 p.m. starting at city hall, and will include an Elder prayer and guest speakers.
