Trigger Warning: This article contains topics of abuse, death and murder. Reader discretion is advised.

Hadih, I’m Serina Greene from Nadleh Whut’en. I am half Haida and Dakelh and belong to the Bear clan. My journey as a domestic abuse survivor to a family violence advocate in my community began with a strong call to help families who have lost loved ones to violence. 

As a survivor, I have witnessed the darkest corners of human behavior, but I have also found strength, resilience and hope. Violence is a painful reality for many Indigenous communities in Canada, especially for our women who too often live in fear, worry and silence.

The crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People is a national tragedy. Our people face violence at a significantly higher rate than non-Indigenous people. Each statistic represents a daughter, mother, father, son or friend whose life was cut short or whose whereabouts remain unknown. Families and communities are left with unanswered questions, enduring grief and a lingering sense of injustice.