In January 1992, the body of Cheryl Ann Joe was found in Vancouver’s impoverished Downtown Eastside. Cheryl Ann was a member of the shíshálh Nation, located on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast. On the following February 14, her mother Linda and dozens of others gathered at the site of the gruesome discovery to remember Cheryl Ann.

Over the past 34 years, what started as an event for the community has become a tradition that has spread across the land. Today, Women’s Memorial Marches are held in more than 20 cities in the United States and Canada on February 14. In recent years, the Montréal march has started from Cabot Square.

Since that first march, the number of Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people who have disappeared without a trace has continued to climb. Indigenous women are four times more likely to be victims of violent crime than non-Indigenous women. They make up 16% of female homicide victims and 16% of missing women in Canada, even though Indigenous people are only 4.3% of Canada’s population (source). The Assembly of First Nations is calling for action on the recommendations in the report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. We hear messages of solidarity and goodwill everywhere, but we have yet to see any significant changes.

With Bill 1 (the Québec Constitution Act, 2025), the CAQ government is again denying the 11 Indigenous peoples who share this province with us the right to self-determination. Just the other day, the Atikamekw chief Sipi Flamand from the Manawan community was denied admission to a committee room at the National Assembly with his eagle staff, a spiritual object. Attempts at reconciliation are superficial and often attempt to deny Indigenous peoples’ cultures and traditions.

There have been six femicides in Québec so far this year. SIX. Two of the victims were Indigenous women. The living conditions in Indigenous communities and intergenerational trauma resulting from residential schools and years of mistreatment and contempt will not heal without strong, concrete measures from the provincial and federal governments. Reconstruction requires cultural reappropriation and emancipation. Reconciliation requires recognition of the facts, of people’s experiences and the historical wrongs. The road will be long—and the CAQ government’s paternalistic, colonialist and racist attitude will not make it any easier.

An annual march won’t solve the problem. But every year—and we have been doing this for some years now—there seem to be a few more people, despite the winter cold. The speeches are sometimes inspirational, sometimes heartbreaking. This year, one woman spoke of her distress since her daughter’s disappearance. Another woman spoke of the violence she has endured, and another of the resilience and strength of Indigenous women.

Unfortunately, this march is necessary. It is necessary so that the story of murdered and missing women, girls and two-spirit people is heard in the streets of Montréal. So that the fact we are on land stewarded by the Kanien’kehà:ka Nation is not forgotten in the streets of Montréal. So that one day, we can celebrate true reconciliation.

Chantal Ide

General Secretary and officer responsible for Indigenous affairs