The voice of Kwantlen First Nations member sesm茅l蓹t cracked up at times as she spoke to a crowd gathered for the Red Dress Walk Friday about the epidemic of murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls in North America.

鈥淚 will not stop talking about this,鈥� she said.

The crowd of about 200 people included the family of Kristina Ward, who has been missing since 2017. The RCMP puts the number of missing and killed Indigenous women and girls at more than 1,000 (1980 to 2012) but the Native Women鈥檚 Association of Canada said the number is closer to 4,000.

Many, including the guest speaker, wore a red painted hand print over their mouths, a symbol of the violence that affects Indigenous women across the country and beyond.

After the speech by sesm茅l蓹t, those in attendance walked from the Lower Fraser Valley Aboriginal Society office on Eastleigh Crescent through the downtown and back in the annual walk to raise awareness about murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people.

sesm茅l蓹t (Fern Gabriel) spoke of the history of her people, who were a matrilinial society with governance handed down through the women鈥檚 lineages.

Since European settlement, the emphasis has been on wealth and property through patriarchal governance. She said patriarchy has a vested interest in keeping Indigenous people traumatized so their efforts have to go towards healing and not to stopping the destruction of nature.

鈥淚鈥檓 talking about exploitation of the resources on the land,鈥� she commented. 鈥淐apitalists, industrialists always wanted to make sure there was economic development. We鈥檝e heard that all our life 鈥� economic development on the land and get the people working. Get the people working. Get the people working.鈥�

She said that ignores the social and emotional well-being and physical safety of people. She urged those in power to use that power to make positive change so Indigenous women and men can be valued members of society.

鈥�91原创 needs to step up their game,鈥� sesm茅l蓹t urged.

She is pleased that the Canadian government has finally recognized there is a crisis of a missing and murdered Indigenous women. The roots of the crisis lie in the devaluation that starts when they are little. She noted that one in three Indigenous girls will be sexually assaulted before they are old enough to start school.

Indigenous women are 12 times more likely to go missing compared to women overall, she told the crowd.

She called on people from other cultures wanting to be allies to Indigenous women to be 鈥渞eal friends鈥� by challenging racist behaviour and demanding action from those in power because Indigenous people can鈥檛 fight for justice alone.

鈥淢y knees aren鈥檛 that great anymore. I can鈥檛 stay in a fight anymore,鈥� she joked. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if you appreciate my sense of humour, but I know it鈥檚 dark, but if I don鈥檛 laugh, I鈥檒l cry.鈥�

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鈥� READ MORE: Kristina Ward鈥檚 family attends 91原创 Red Dress Walk in 2022

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