We must work together to halt violence on aboriginal women and girls – Winnipeg Free Press

February 23, 2015

In August last year, more than a thousand Manitobans, indigenous and non-indigenous alike, joined a march to honour Tina Fontaine, our murdered, much-loved 15-year-old.

This, to me, showed there is no degree of separation between our loved ones, disappeared or murdered. We are all one. And we walked together in the hope that our prayers will lead to action to end this horror.

On Friday, provincial and territorial governments and five national aboriginal organizations will meet in Ottawa for the national roundtable on missing and murdered indigenous women and girls. This roundtable is an important first step in a series that must be taken to build public awareness and implement action to combat our national tragedy.

Many families of those missing and murdered repeatedly say they are not being heard and their concerns are not being addressed. These concerns range from insufficient resources for families searching for their loved ones, to inadequate funding for existing social agencies working to assist families of victims.

Read More: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/analysis/we-are-one-293596431.html