May 5, 2023
MANITOU RAPIDS, ON - The Fort Frances Lakers participated in the MMIWG Awareness Walk organized by Rainy River First Nations to mark the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. The event featured a drum ceremony and walk to the Pow Wow Grounds where Rainy River First Nations Chief Marcel Medicine-Horton spoke about the need to raise awareness and push for change following findings of the 2019 National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
The report showed that between 2001 and 2015, Indigenous women and girls accounted for almost a quarter of female homicide victims despite only representing 5 per cent of women in Canada. This week, the House of Commons unanimously backed a motion to declare the deaths and disappearances of Indigenous women and girls a Canada-wide emergency, and to commit to funding a new system that would alert the public when someone goes missing.
For more information, and to view the final report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, visit www.mmiwg-ffada.ca.
For media inquiries, please contact:
Tara Allaire
Media Relations Coordinator
Fort Frances Lakers
fortfranceslakersgm@gmail.com
