About 30 people in Yorkton attended an October 4 Sisters in Spirit Vigil to honor the lives of missing or murdered aboriginal women in Canada.
Organized by the Saskatchewan Aboriginal Women's Circle Corporation (SAWCC), it was one of more than 100 vigils held that day and annually across Canada.
Aboriginal women and girls experience violence at significantly higher rates than other groups in Canada.
There are currently 17 missing persons cases from that demographic under investigation in Saskatchewan; the names of each were read during Tuesday's vigil in City Centre Park.
According to statistics cited by SAWCC president Judy Hughes at the vigil, there may actually be more than 60 cases of missing aboriginal women in Saskatchewan. Many of them go unreported due to family members' isolation or a lack of trust or confidence in the police.
In addition, the murdered remains of aboriginal woman are discovered in the province at a rate of about once each year.
"That's why we call it a crisis," said Hughes.
The Sisters in Spirit Vigils are an attempt to provide support for the affected families, raise awareness of the problem, and call for social change. SAWCC's parent group, the Native Women's Association of Canada, and 10 other non-profit organizations have called for the creation of a national "plan of action" to stop violence against women.
The plan would include provisions for stable funding to frontline shelter and support organizations, access to justice for aboriginal women, and action against the root social and economic causes of violence.
"We really have to look at what kind of images are we getting, why are people thinking this way, and most importantly, what can we do to make that change," said Hughes.
