Squamish's Lorne Cardinal, of Corner Gas fame, has put his voice and support behind a campaign to raise awareness of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
“My big hope is that people don’t forget that it’s still happening, it’s not a done thing, it’s not in the past," Cardinal said in social media posts on Facebook and Instagram.
"There’s still murdered and missing women in this country, and more so with our people than in any other group. I just don’t want people to forget or think that it’s over. That’s another reason why I wanted to be a part of this campaign, to bring that message across that it’s still going on, and it still needs to be answered.”
The message is paired on social media with powerful images of Cardinal draped in a red blanket, the symbolic colour representing missing and murdered Aboriginal women and girls in Canada.
Locally, Whistler's Linda Epp has led the Sisters in Spirit Vigil, an annual march aimed at shining a light on the ongoing threat of violence that disproportionately affects Indigenous women and girls.
Indigenous females are 16 times more likely than white women to be murdered or go missing, according to the inquiry's interim report, "Our Women and Girls are Sacred."
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau established the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls in September 2016 in response to advocacy by Indigenous and social services groups calling for action.
For more on the current social media campaign or the inquiry, go to Sacred MMIWG - FFADA sacrées on Facebook or www.mmiwg-ffada.ca.
A version of this story originally appeared in The Squamish Chief on Feb. 21.
