Grande Prairie and area residents are invited to show solidarity with families of missing and murdered Aboriginal women this Saturday.
The 6th local Sisters in Spirit vigil will start at GPRC at 2 p.m. before making its way to the Friendship Centre.
GPFC Executive Director Kelly Benning says Sisters in Spirit is part of a national day of remembrance .
“It’s a time for families to get together and grieve and mourn, and for the community to try and offer some form of comfort, as well as to make people aware of the issue and the horrifying stats – the numbers of missing and murdered women – across the country.”
Between 2000 and 2008, Aboriginal women and girls represented approximately 10 per cent of all female homicides in Canada.
However, Aboriginal women make up only 3 per cent of the female population.
16 per cent of all cases of missing and murdered aboriginal women across Canada have happened here in Alberta.
Vigils are happening in communities across the country, including on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.