The family members of Indigenous women and girls who have gone missing or been murdered along the Highway of Tears in northern B.C. cried and held hands as a monument created in their honour was unveiled at Cottonwood Island Park in Prince George Friday morning.
Called the Pillar of Hope, the monument commemorates the string of disappearances and murders of Indigenous women and girls along the 720-kilometre stretch of Highway 16 between Prince George and Prince Rupert dating back to the 1960s.
“It’s a bittersweet moment,” said Mary Teegee, executive director of Carrier Sekani Family Services, which led the project.
“This place, we’re hoping, will be balm for the soul and give peace to our families that are grieving and give peace to their hearts for even just a moment.”
During the ceremony, family members and supporters formed a circle around the pillar and read out the names of their loved ones — each name followed by the beat of a drum.
Brenda Wilson-John, whose 16-year-old sister Ramona was murdered in Smithers in 1994, said it was an important moment for healing.
“It means so much for the families,” she said. “You can see the connection to this pillar and how emotional it was for them to be there, and stand there, and touch it, and all together they were holding hands and supporting each other.”
The Pillar of Hope was unveiled on the final day of the 20th anniversary Highway of Tears Symposium. The four-day conference marked the anniversary of a 2006 symposium that first drew national attention to violence happening to Indigenous women and girls along Highway 16.
Teegee says the goal of the conference was to hear from families, elders, government officials and Indigenous leaders about the success and challenges still facing communities along Highway 16 and to update the 33 safety recommendations made at the original symposium 20 years ago.
“We are not just disposable,” said Teegee. “There is also a recognition that this issue is still ongoing and we still have to be vigilant and safe and society needs to know that.”
She says the Pillar of Hope now serves as an awareness maker and visiting place not only for the victims’ families but the broader community.
The Pillar of Hope is made up of four rounded cedar panels and carved by Nak’azdli artist Clayton Gauthier.
He said each panel represents a different season and intertwines Indigenous cultures from throughout the region.
“There’s a lot of nations on the Highway of Tears who have members that have passed and gone missing and been murdered, so I did my best to incorporate different designs and different understandings of different cultures throughout B.C.”
Gauthier said he was honored to work on the project and seeing it unveiled before the families was a heartfelt experience.
“I’ve had elders come and just shed tears on my shoulder and we’re just sharing our feelings and we’re so grateful that this is here, but it is sad that it is here, too.”
Carrier Sekani Family Services plans to place a matching pillar in Prince Rupert, named the Pillar of Strength, symbolically connecting both ends of the Highway of Tears.
Teegee says plans to unveil the Prince Rupert pillar are still underway.
