Hundreds of First Nations people gathered on Parliament Hill Monday, several of whom marched 5,000 kilometres from Vancouver to Ottawa, in an effort to draw attention to high rates of violence against aboriginal women and suicide among those living on native reserves across Canada.
"When you get over 3,000 women dead with only maybe a five per cent success rate of solving those murders, it's genocide," added Aleck Clifton of B.C., who hopes the future is safer for his granddaughter Angelica.
"She's our future. These are the ones -- the women -- we are trying to protect."
Hoping for change
Cynthia Cardinal, whose sister Georgina Papin was murdered by serial killer Robert Pickton, was on hand Monday to honour her sister's life, using her memory as a beacon for change.
"We figure, Georgina's spirit has brought us here to stand up for the woman, all our sisters. She's got a very strong presence in us all and she's done a lot -- she's opened our family's eyes to how the native women are treated in society," said Cardinal.
High suicide rate on reserves
Along with drawing attention to the safety of aboriginal women, a group from Manitoba highlighted concern about the violence many First Nations people commit against themselves. The group has seen nearly 18 suicides in its community -- and nearly 300 attempts -- since 2000.
"I tried doing suicide myself three times already. And I'm here . . . I chose life to walk from Manitoba all the way to Ottawa," 13-year-old Brigitte Hastings told CTV Ottawa.
Although their march ended outside the Parliament buildings, emptied by the recent election call, organizers say the protest is representative of previous pleas for action.
With a report from CTV Ottawa's John Hua
