CORNWALL, Ontario – Unity Street Help Cornwall, a community support group founded by indigenous woman Tina Point, and Andrea Wheeler are promoting a day to remember missing and murdered aboriginal women, girls, trans, two-spirited persons (MMAWGT2) and their families on Sunday, Feb. 14.
Unity Street Help Cornwall will be putting up red dresses and signs advocating the cause and remembering those who have been murdered or are still missing along Montreal Rd. in Cornwall.
According to Wheeler, the Akwesasne Family Wellness Program has chronicled over 30 cases of missing or murdered aboriginal women from the Akwesasne community.
Unity Street Help Cornwall is encouraging residents to participate by hanging a red dress or sign of their own in their window, or by learning more about the topic through reading information like such as the Ontario Native Women’s Associations ‘Reconciliation With Indigenous Women’ Report (2020) .
There will also be a virtual Strawberry Ceremony on Feb. 14 in honour of missing and murdered indigenous women, girls, trans, and two-spirited people.
Unity Street Help Cornwall is an organization dedicated to helping those in need in Cornwall and Akwesasne. They regularly provide food and blankets to residents who need them, and connect people with support services.
Wheeler also called on residents to lobby their local MP to push the Trudeau government to follow through on the 94 Calls to Action, and 234 Calls for Justice in the Truth and Reconcilliation Commission’s national inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women, girls, trans, and two-spirited persons.