THUNDER BAY -- Ann McGuire’s sister Jamie was found murdered in Winnipeg in 1994 and her case has remained unsolved for 20 years.
But the investigation has been re-opened as part of the RCMP’s Project Devote, an initiative that has a Manitoba task force looking into historical homicide and missing person cases.
Project Devote has sprung from the vigils and walks to raise awareness for missing and murdered Aboriginal women like the Sisters in Spirit Vigil held Friday at the Ontario Native Women’s Association in Thunder Bay.
McGuire attended the vigil and said smaller communities across the country, including Thunder Bay, could benefit from a similar initiative.
“It’s helping my family’s case and probably a lot of women in Winnipeg,” said McGuire, who said she attended the vigil to show support for the cause.
“There is a lot of poverty and a lot of violence going on within our community. I think we need more advocates in our community to bring forward the root causes of our violence,” she said. “We need more people to come forward and advocate for our basic human rights – housing, food and jobs.”
McGuire, who resides in Thunder Bay, said the Sisters in Spirit Vigil holds great meaning to her and while her sister is gone, at least her body was found.
“A lot of people, their loved ones are not found and I think that’s the hardest part of the missing and murdered tragedy that’s happening across Canada,” she said.
ONWA’s executive director Erin Corston said a big part of hosting the vigil is to support those families that have lost someone.
“It’s a way to help the families understand that we haven’t forgotten what’s happened and honouring the loss of those women,” she said.
The main message the organization wants to send to the community is that violence continues.
“It’s important to know that when somebody loses a mother, a daughter, a sister, an auntie that they never forget. It’s our role as an organization, as Aboriginal women, to help them understand we want to remember them, too, and we want to honour their lives,” said Corston.
The first Sisters in Spirit Vigil was held in Ottawa 10 years ago; this is the eighth year, a ceremony has been held in Thunder Bay, which was one of more than 200 communities across the country participating this year.