More than 500 people gathered in Montreal on Tuesday evening to denounce violence against Indigenous women.
Before the march from Emilie Gamelin Park to Notre Dame Basilica began native leader Ellen Gabriel addressed the crowd, speaking out about the lack of resources and training available to police tracking missing women.
"Indigenous women have been asking for education, sensitization, of all levels of government and educational institutions for many years. We cannot wait another two years for results to happen," said Gabriel, referring to a missing woman in Kahnawake whose body was only located years after she disappeared.
This was the 11th annual such march in Montreal. The first one took place in 2005 after Bridget Tolley's mother Gladys was hit and killed by a Sureté du Quebec patrol car in 2001.
Organizers like Stacey Gomez are calling for a provincial inquiry into cases of abuse, such as the SQ officers accused of abusing native women in Val D'Or, and of missing and murdered women from reserves across Quebec.
"There are also many concerns that have been raised about the national inquiry by organizations such as the Native Women's Association. This includes the limited support for the people that are going to be part of this process," said Gomez.
Counterparts to Montreal's march took place across Canada, including a rally on Parliament Hill. Protesters there remembered 46-year-old Inuk artist Annie Pootoogook who was found dead in the Ottawa River on Sept. 19, a death that police are calling suspicious.
Last month the federal government made good on its promise to launch an inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women.
Those marching in Montreal said they were concerned about the limited support given to survivors and the families taking part in the inquiry.
"An inquiry is not going to solve anything unless the people themselves change," said Gabriel.
Protesters are also upset that there will be no way to reopen cases, and that the inquiry does not spell out the roles of the provinces and territories.
"The inquiry has a very broad mandate, not a strict-enough mandate to deal with the kind of SQ abuse in Val D'Or, or to make the police accountable. So we need to keep working in parallel to what the inquiry is doing," said Gabriel.
That was a point with which Gomez agreed.
"There are certain things that are under the jurisdiction of the provinces which need to be addressed, so by not making that part of the process from the beginning, there is additional work that needs to take place, and it's a barrier," said Gomez, referring specifically to the welfare of indigenous children.
Cheryl McDonald, whose sister Carleen was murdered in 1988, said dealing with the loss of her sister was difficult.
"She went missing in 1988 from Akwesasne at the age of 25," said McDonald.
It's only in the past year and a half, through meeting the families of other women who have vanished or been killed, that she has begun to heal.
"I think it can help to address some of the family supports that are needed, some of the social-psycho supports," said McDonald.
"We really need leaders, First Nation and Canadian leaders, to really put the money into the grassroots and urban areas where the people are, where the shelters are limited."
She said it was not acceptable that so many aboriginal people are homeless in Montreal.
"I live in the reserve of Kanesatake, and when I come into the city I'm seeing my own people, and Canadians on street corners," said McDonald.
"It's not about putting families through another testimonial kind of situation or Truth and Reconciliation and putting ideas on the shelf."
Gabriel also called on the federal government to educate all immigrants about Canada's true history, and to begin taking action immediately.
"We have people who come here to this country who are escaping violent situations at home. They need to learn about the colonial history of Canada, because while the inquiry goes on, colonialism goes on," said Gabriel.
McDonald said an inquiry wasn't really needed. What she wanted was money for solutions.
"What do you have to learn? We've told you. Where are you?"
