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The National Union once again stands in support of the joint statement and is encouraging it members and all Canadians to show their support by attending a Vigil.
Ottawa (02 Oct. 2013) – The eighth annual Sisters in Spirit Vigils will take place on October 4 across Canada to honour the lives of murdered and missing Aboriginal women and girls. No other event in Canada brings so many communities and Canadians together to celebrate, honour and support Aboriginal women and girls.
This year, 189 Sisters in Spirit vigils have been registered across Canada. Numerous international organizations are holding moments of silence or joining the virtual candlelight vigil. The www.october4th.ca website was created as a place of hope and healing where people are invited to light a candle and leave a dedication.
Sisters In Spirit
The Sisters in Spirit (SIS) is an initiative launched by the Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) to call attention to the nearly 600 Aboriginal women and girls that have been murdered or gone missing in the past few decades.
In 2012 NWAC launched a petition calling for a National Public Inquiry into this tragedy. An inquiry would be a crucial step to implementing a comprehensive and coordinated national action plan to address the scale and severity of violence faced by Aboriginal women and girls. More than 10,000 signatures have been collected. The petition will be submitted to the Federal Government on October 18 as part of a National Day of Action.
Joint Statement
A joint statement will be read calling for all levels of government to work with Aboriginal women and representative organizations, including NWAC, to take action on this Canadian human rights issue that impacts us all.
The National Union once again stands in support of the joint statement and is encouraging it members and all Canadians to show their support by attending a Vigil. Locations for this year’s vigils can be found by clicking here or the link below.
10 Things you can do to support October 4th SIS Vigils TODAY:
1) Find a Vigil in your area and attend. 2013 locations can be found at
https://web.archive.org/web/20131225093658/http://www.nwac.ca/2013-vigil-locations
2) Hold a moment-of-silence in your workplace, school or place of worship on or around
October 4th to reach even more people. Register your event and have your efforts
acknowledged at http://www.nwac.ca/programs/2013-vigil-registration
3) Light a virtual candle in honour of missing and murdered women at www.October4th.ca and
leave a dedication message.
4) Sign and share the petition calling for a National Public Inquiry into the issue of missing and
murdered Aboriginal women and girls at https://nwac.ca/nwac-petition-nationalinquiry-
needed Completed petitions should be returned to the NWAC office
5) Learn about the NWAC Faceless Dolls Project and how you can build on the legacy of this
commemorative project at https://web.archive.org/web/20131013063738/http://www.nwac.ca/programs/faceless-dolls-project
6) Read one of the 11 print Life Stories as well as previous NWAC research reports, Fact Sheets
and Regional Reports on this issue at http://www.nwac.ca/programs/sis-research Three new
digital life stories will be launched soon.
7) Learn how you can support families and be an advocate for this issue. Download a copy of the
Community Resource Guide: What Can I Do to Help the Families of Missing and Murdered
Aboriginal Women and Girls? to find toolkits and fact sheets on this issue at
http://www.nwac.ca/programs/community-resource-guide-what-can-i-do-help-familiesmissing-
and-murdered-aboriginal-women-
8) Donate online to help NWAC continue their work. Order an October 4th button or Lapel Pins
at www.nwac.ca/donations
9) Write PM Harper, your local Member of Parliament, MLA, Councilor or Mayor and tell them
how you feel about this issue and demand action.
10) Call your local newspaper and ask them to cover the October 4th SIS Vigil in your area. After
October 4th, write a Letter to the Editor to your Local Newspaper and thank them for
covering the local SIS vigil in your area or mark your displeasure if they did not cover the vigil.
JOIN THE CONVERSATION ONLINE: Sample Social Media Messages will be posted
each day (October 1st - 4th) for you to share and re-tweet
STEP 1 ‘Friend’ the profile ‘SistersIn Spirit’ on Facebook.
STEP 2 ‘Like’ the ‘Native Women’s Association of Canada Page’ on Facebook.
STEP 3 Follow on Twitter @NWAC_Comms
STEP 4 Share and re-tweet NWAC messages October 1st-4th
NUPGE
The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE