August 13, 2023
From the late 1980's to the early 2000's, many young Indigenous women in Northern British Columbia went missing or were found murdered along the 724-kilometre length of Highway 16, now known as the Highway of Tears.
The RCMP's investigation into the murders, referred to as Project E-Pana, began in the fall of 2005. Proportionately across Canada, the number of Indigenous women who experience violence or become murder victims far outweighs the Indigenous population. To address this alarming statistic, Carrier Sekani Family Services (CSFS) began advocating for change, started prevention work, and supported families who lost loved ones.
In 2006, CSFS hosted a symposium to raise public awareness and create a call for action. More than 500 people were in attendance which included service providers, First Nations community members, and victim's family members. Thirty-three recommendations came out of this important meeting covering four key areas:
The Highway of Tears shares a history of colonization, which has resulted in experiences of poverty, violence, loss of culture, addictions, and displacement from land. View the the Highway of Tears documents and report.
Since 2006, CSFS has provided advocacy and support for family members and friends who have lost loved ones to violence. In addition, we have provided prevention education through our Highway of Tears community toolkit as well as emergency response planning to First Nations communities across Northern British Columbia.
We continue to support family members, as well as providing forum opportunities for women to discuss ways to prevent sexual violence. We are working to implement the Calls for Justice from the National Inquiry in to Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women, Girls and 2SLGBTQQIA People.
Learn more about our work: highwayoftears.org
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Last modified: Wednesday 03-Apr-24 12:36:29 PDT
CSFS gratefully acknowledges Noeleen McQuary, the artisan who created the traditional Carrier baskets used in the CSFS branding on this webpage, and in other print and online media.
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