Good day everyone and thank you for being here.
My name is Gladys Radek from the Gitxsan Wet su wit’en territory in northern British Columbia. My clan is the Lax il u or Small Frog clan which follows my mother’s matrilineal line. We are here today to introduce the national Walk4Justice which has been in the works since January 2008. This walk came to me as a vision in September 2007 while walking down the Highway of Tears to honour the second anniversary of my missing niece, Tamara Lynn Chipman, who disappeared without a trace. She was last seen just out of Prince Rupert, BC, September 21, 2005. To this day she has not been found and there is no closure for our family. Since January we have raised awareness from coast to coast about our intentions and we all want Walk4Justice to help the families and to be the voices for their loved ones. We will walk from Vancouver, BC to Ottawa, Ontario. We will leave on National Aboriginal Day, June 21, 2008 from Trout Lake in Vancouver, BC. We will arrive in Ottawa September 12 to prepare for the wallk4justice rally on Parliament Hill confirmed for September 15, 2008 from 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. We are strictly non-profit and are run by volunteers and donations.
After Tamara’s disappearance I began research and contacted many family members who have also lost their loved ones on this treacherous highway. Families are suffering because there has been no justice, closure, equality or ACCOUNTABILITY over the past 4 decades from our authorities. Our data-base has increased to over 3000 women and children still missing or categorized as unsolved murderers across the country; there are over 200 in 2 areas of BC alone. This is not including those women who have died through acts of domestic violence or those who are still disappearing at an average of about three a week. Many of these 3000 women are Aboriginal. Amnesty International’s stance upon this national shame is such:
“…[In the 2004 Amnesty International report on violence and discrimination against Aboriginal women in Canada, entitled Stolen Sisters]…we revealed that public indifference and police inaction contributed to the marginalization of Aboriginal women, and called on the government to develop a comprehensive strategy to ensure the safety of Aboriginal women in Canada. That hasn’t happened yet, so it is important to continue to gather public support through events such as this film screening and panel discussion,”
In January 2008 I told a few people about my vision and we have been working non-stop to take initiatives to address this continual violence against our women to the top leaders of this country, Prime Minister Steven Harper and INAC Minister Chuck Strahl. We began a petition online to be presented on Parliament Hill on September 15, 2008. At that time we will demand a public inquiry into these untimely deaths. We seek justice so families can heal their broken hearts and get some form of closure for their losses. We especially want accountability, in order to get accountability we need equality. There needs to be a restructuring of the outdated judicial system, law enforcement and all levels of government and leadership so we may move forward into a society free of systemic neglect and discrimination. We need to address the racism, poverty, homelessness and domestic violence epidemics in this country. Women are targeted nationwide and we need it to stop. We are the life-givers and caretakers of society. You all need us.
Our working group in Vancouver consist of a very compassionate group of women and men who heard my vision and want to help it become reality. Bernie Williams, Nicole Tait, Vikki Peters, Telsa Pratt, Renee Pratt, Rose Shah’traa and Jackie Lynn have volunteered many months of networking, raising awareness, securing venues, donations and events across the nation. We have several sponsors for this event including the Aboriginal Mothers Center Society (Vancouver), Aboriginal Women’s Action Network (Vancouver), Amnesty International (National), Native Womens Association of Canada, National, United Native Nations Society (Lillian George), Art Matters Society/RagMag (Gwynne Hunt), Mary Billy (research) Longshoreman’s Union Local 500, Edmonton Small Press, Canadian Native Friendship Center (Edmonton), Rainermixer Rubberboots (Edmonton), Gallery Gauche and Evelyn Battell and Kathryn Nonesuch, Kermode Friendship Center (Terrace, BC), Canada’s First Nations Radio (Terrace, BC), Ksan House Society (Terrace, BC), Matilda Wilson and family members of Ramona Wilson, victim (Smithers, BC), and Co-op Radio Vancouver and countless others whom I may have missed here but we fully acknowledge them and are thankful.
The speaking agenda at Parliament Hill is solely my responsibility and guests are invited accordingly. If there is anyone who would like to speak they will have to confirm with me so I can make the necessary arrangements to fit them into our schedule.
At this time I would like to introduce to you the main working group.
Bernie Williams is a true warrior when it comes to human rights; she has been an advocate in the downtown eastside since 1989 and gone where angels wouldn’t go to search for missing and murdered women. She has been a very vocal for the rights of the poor, homeless and drug addicted for over 2 decades.
Nicole Tait is our Youth Advocate. She is a recent graduate and has worked at my side relentlessly researching and making lists upon lists of confirmed missing and murdered women. She produced all of our slide shows for every event we go raising awareness and also arranges her own presentations in schools to educate about our missing women and children.. She helps me immensely being a caregiver to my beautiful 2 year old granddaughter. She is only 18. We are immensely grateful to have her working with us.
Vikki Peters is a young lady who has been there for all of us since the symposium held in Prince George in March 2006. She always seems to come to our rescue when we need to make a trip up north or anywhere. She supports us because she is also a family member of a missing sister. She understands how we all feel. She has been a great asset to our raising awareness campaign. Her smile has brightened many a day.
Telsa Pratt joined us because her heart is filled with compassion and understanding. Her spirit has brightened all of our hearts and she works continuously organizing our contacts across the nation. Not only that, she introduced us to her sister, Renee Pratt who also felt the need for this walk. She drives us and is readily available for anything that may arise during the organizing. She and Telsa are both Godsends to all of us.
Rose Shah’traa studies criminology and advocates aboriginal justice. She created our Facebook page for the Walk4Justice and spends many hours writing proposals, letters and organizing fundraising events for this cause. She is a hard worker and volunteers her time to make this journey a success until the wee hours of the morning. She believes if enough people join in one voice policies and laws change. We are very grateful to have her on our team.
Don Wright, from Amnesty International has provided us with space for our much need working group meetings and also organizes for our Highway of Tears presentations. He is also working with the head office in Vancouver and keeping them informed about this walk. He is an invaluable asset to this working group in so many ways. He is not available today and sends his regrets. Amnesty International is supporting this walk nationwide. Thank you Don.
Contact information:
Facebook page : http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=14313758782
Website: http://walk4justice.piczo.com/?cr=6
Petition: http://www.petitiononline.com/glradek/petition.html
Email: walk4justice2008@yahoo.ca
Filed under: All News, Women's Section
