Edmonton hosts first annual MMIW relatives conference [Video]

EDMONTON –

The City of Edmonton’s inaugural missing and murdered Indigenous relatives (MMIR) conference concluded on Friday with a feast and round dance to highlight Indigenous resilience in the face of settler colonial violence.

Dubbed “Gathering: The Strength of Our Stories,” the two-day event brought together 250 attendees and volunteers from across the country to hear panelists and keynote speakers discuss the scale of the crisis and different approaches to addressing it.

The federal government initiated an inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls (MMIWG), which released its final report in 2019. Concluding that MMIWG are victims of a Canadian genocide, the report produced 231 Calls to Justice.

As a result of this report, the federal government adopted its Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ People National Action Plan in 2021, and Edmonton city council passed its own plan the following year.

The Edmonton conference widens this scope …