On May 5, several hundred people gathered at Cabot Square in downtown Montreal for the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit People (MMIWG2ST+). The annual event is part of a broader national movement to honour the lives lost and call attention to the systemic violence that continues to affect Indigenous communities.
The gathering was organized by Projet Iskweu, an initiative of the Native Women’s Shelter of Montreal (Foyer pour femmes autochtones de Montréal). It featured a series of speakers who shared personal testimonies of grief and resilience, many recounting the loss of a daughter, sister, mother, or friend. Others spoke to their own experiences as survivors and called on attendees to recognize that everyone has a role to play in ending the violence.
