Photo: Contributed

A protest sign held in honour of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls at an event in the North Okanagan in 2017.

Keremeos will host an event honouring the lives and memories of missing and murdered Indegnous women and girls as part of National Aboriginal Addictions Awareness Week next week. 

"The violence experienced by Indigenous women and girls in Canada is a national tragedy," said Leslie Fabriz, one of the event coordinators. “To date, there are over 1,200 missing or murdered Indigenous women and girls in this country."

On Nov. 21 at Victory Hall in Keremeos, there will be a dinner featuring various speakers, starting at 5:30 p.m. At 6:30 p.m., a memorial walk will take place at Memorial Park. 

“The number of missing and murdered women is disproportionate within Canadian society as a whole, Indigenous women are significantly overrepresented as victims of homicide," Fabriz said. “Their loss is felt in every Indigenous community from coast to coast. Those left behind spend a lifetime wondering what happened, and why.”

The event is a new addition to the National Aboriginal Addictions Awareness Week for the local hosts, the Okanagan Nation Transition Emergency house, Lower Similkameen Indian Band, Upper Similkameen Indian Band and the Okanagan Nation Alliance. It replaces an event that was due to happen in October, called Sisters in Spirit. 

Addictions Awareness Week takes place every November as a national movement to try and dispel stigma around addictions and recovery. 

"We have seen the correlations between addictions and violence in our communities,” said Darryl-Jean Cerenzie, coordinator of the You, Empowered, Strong Project with Okanagan Nation Alliance. “We need to start addressing this correlation, and finding solutions to decrease the instances of violence within our communities."

The Nov. 21 event is open to all, though participants are reminded to dress for the weather, as the memorial walk will take place outdoors.