28th ANNUAL FEB 14 WOMEN’S MEMORIAL MARCH

28th ANNUAL FEB 14 WOMEN’S MEMORIAL MARCH

Thursdsay Feb 14th, 2019
Family and community members gather in remembrance at 10:30 am
March starts at noon from Carnegie (Main and Hastings)
Unceded xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) territories.

FB event: https://www.facebook.com/events/275794656420729/

The first women’s memorial march was held in 1992 in response to the murder of a woman on Powell Street in Vancouver. Out of this sense of hopelessness and anger came an annual march on Valentine’s Day to express compassion, community, and caring for all women in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, Unceded Coast Salish Territories.

The women’s memorial march continues to honour the lives of missing and murdered women and all women’s lives lost in the Downtown Eastside. Increasing deaths of many vulnerable women from the DTES still leaves family, friends, loved ones, and community members with an overwhelming sense of grief and loss. Indigenous women disproportionately continue to go missing or be murdered with minimal to no action to address these tragedies or the systemic nature of gendered violence, poverty, racism, or colonialism.

On Thursday Feb 14th 2019, we will gather at 10:30 am at the Carnegie Community Centre Theatre, 401 Main Street (corner Hastings, Vancouver) where family members speak in remembrance. Given space constraints, we ask the broader public to join us at noon, when the march takes to the streets and proceeds through the Downtown Eastside, with stops to commemorate where women were last seen or found; speeches by community activists at Main and Hastings; a healing circle at Oppenheimer Park around 2:30 pm; and finally a community feast at the Japanese Language Hall.

This event is organized and led by women in the DTES because women – especially Indigenous women – face physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual violence on a daily basis. The February 14th Women’s Memorial March is an opportunity to come together to grieve the loss of our beloved sisters, remember the women who are still missing, and to dedicate ourselves to justice.

* SUPPORT THE WOMEN’S MEMORIAL MARCH

There are many ways to support the Feb 14th Women’s Memorial March:

1) ATTEND: Spread the word and join us (all genders welcome) to the Feb 14th march. We respectfully ask that you please do not bring your agency or group banners, flags, or leaflets as the Women’s Memorial March carries five banners only to honour the women. Sign honouring womens lives are welcome.

2) KNOW THE PROTOCOL: In a good way, we want to inform everyone about the protocol the march that has been in place for 28 years:

At 10:30 am there will a family and community remembrance in the Carnegie Theatre. This is not open to media or the broader public.

The media and broader public begins gathering at approximately 11:30 in front of Main and Hastings where territorial elders welcome us. At noon the elders and family members exit from the Carnegie Theatre and everyone is asked to make a circle at Main and Hastings for the prayer. The march proceeds at noon only when elders and family members have exited the Theatre and after the prayer circle.

The March is organized and led by women. Women elders carrying medicines are at the front, followed by all women elders and family members and women drummers. The quilt made by loved ones in the DTES community is carried behind the family members and drummers. Everyone is invited to follow. We ask that you leave your organizational banners at home, signs honouring women’s lives are welcome.

The march makes a numbers of stops along the way for ceremony to honour where women were last seen or found. There is no photography of the ceremonies. At approximately 2 pm we stop again at Main and Hastings for speeches by community activists, followed by a healing circle and drummers at Oppenheimer Park around 3 pm, and finally a community feast at the Japanese Language Hall.

3) VOLUNTEER: Please volunteer to support the march with setup, cleanup and more. We need approximately 55 volunteers. Volunteers can sign up here: http://signup.com/go/QowVVSf

4) PLAN: Plan a memorial march in your community. Last year, memorial marches were held in approximately twenty other cities and communities. Please email us the details so we can maintain communication, compile the information on our website, and build strength in our coordinated efforts.

5) DONATE: Please donate. The February 14th Women’s Memorial March is made possible by organizations and individuals like you. Please make cheques payable to the Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre, and include Feb 14th Women’s Memorial March on the memo line. Mail cheques to the Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre, 302 Columbia St. Vancouver, BC V6A 4J1. All donations over $10 will be gratefully acknowledged with a tax deductible receipt.

Thank you all for your support and commitment,
Feb 14th Women’s Memorial March Committee

Website: https://womensmemorialmarch.wordpress.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/womensmemorialmarch/

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27th Annual Feb 14th Women’s Memorial March

27th Annual Feb 14th Women’s Memorial March

Tuesday Feb 14th, 2017
Family and community members gather in remembrance at 10:30 am ( *** please note earlier start time ***)
March starts at noon from Carnegie (Main and Hastings)

On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/154666328355768/

The first women’s memorial march was held in 1992 in response to the murder of a Coast Salish woman on Powell Street in Vancouver. Her name is not spoken today out of respect for the wishes of her family. Out of this sense of hopelessness and anger came an annual march on Valentine’s Day to express compassion, community, and caring for all women in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, Unceded Coast Salish Territories.

Twenty seven years later, the women’s memorial march continues to honour the lives of missing and murdered women and all women’s lives lost in the Downtown Eastside. Increasing deaths of many vulnerable women from the DTES still leaves family, friends, loved ones, and community members with an overwhelming sense of grief and loss. Indigenous women disproportionately continue to go missing or be murdered with minimal to no action to address these tragedies or the systemic nature of gendered violence, poverty, racism, or colonialism.

On Tuesday Feb 14th 2017, we will gather at 10:30 am at the Carnegie Community Centre Theatre, 401 Main Street (corner Hastings, Vancouver) where family members speak in remembrance. Given space constraints, we ask the broader public to join us at noon, when the march takes to the streets and proceeds through the Downtown Eastside, with stops to commemorate where women were last seen or found; speeches by community activists at Main and Hastings; a healing circle at Oppenheimer Park around 2:30 pm; and finally a community feast at the Japanese Language Hall.

We continue to call for a national inquiry that is led by family and community members and that centers our experiences, need for healing, and quest for answers, concrete action, and meaningful justice.

This event is organized and led by women in the DTES because women – especially Indigenous women – face physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual violence on a daily basis. The February 14th Women’s Memorial March is an opportunity to come together to grieve the loss of our beloved sisters, remember the women who are still missing, and to dedicate ourselves to justice.

* SUPPORT THE WOMEN’S MEMORIAL MARCH

There are many ways to support the Feb 14th Women’s Memorial March:

1) ATTEND: Spread the word and join us (all genders welcome) to the Feb 14th march. We respectfully ask that you please do not bring your agency or group banners, flags, or leaflets as the Women’s Memorial March carries five banners only to honour the women. Sign honouring womens lives are welcome.

2) PLAN: Plan a memorial march in your community. Last year, memorial marches were held in approximately twenty other cities and communities. Please email us the details at hwalia8@gmail.com so we can maintain communication, compile the information on our website, and build strength in our coordinated efforts.

3) DONATE: Please donate. The February 14th Women’s Memorial March is made possible by organizations and individuals like you. Please make cheques payable to the Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre, and include Feb 14th Women’s Memorial March on the memo line. Mail cheques to the Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre, 302 Columbia St. Vancouver, BC V6A 4J1. All donations over $10 will be gratefully acknowledged with a tax deductible receipt.

Thank you all for your support and commitment,
Feb 14th Women’s Memorial March Committee

Website: https://womensmemorialmarch.wordpress.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/womensmemorialmarch/

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26th Annual Feb 14th Women’s Memorial March

26th Annual Feb 14th Women’s Memorial March

Sunday Feb 14th, 2016
March starts at noon from Carnegie (Main and Hastings)

Web: https://womensmemorialmarch.wordpress.com/2016/01/15/march-2/
FB RSVP: https://www.facebook.com/events/567879256695101/
Download full-colour poster here and half-page leaflet here

The first women’s memorial march was held in 1992 in response to the murder of a Coast Salish woman on Powell Street in Vancouver. Her name is not spoken today out of respect for the wishes of her family. Out of this sense of hopelessness and anger came an annual march on Valentine’s Day to express compassion, community, and caring for all women in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, Unceded Coast Salish Territories.

Twenty six years later, the women’s memorial march continues to honour the lives of missing and murdered women and all women’s lives lost in the Downtown Eastside. Increasing deaths of many vulnerable women from the DTES still leaves family, friends, loved ones, and community members with an overwhelming sense of grief and loss. Indigenous women disproportionately continue to go missing or be murdered with minimal to no action to address these tragedies or the systemic nature of gendered violence, poverty, racism, or colonialism.

On Sunday Feb 14th 2015, we will gather at 11 am at the Carnegie Community Centre Theatre, 401 Main Street (corner Hastings, Vancouver) where family members speak in remembrance. Given space constraints, we ask the broader public to join us at noon, when the march takes to the streets and proceeds through the Downtown Eastside, with stops to commemorate where women were last seen or found; speeches by community activists at Main and Hastings; a healing circle at Oppenheimer Park around 2:30 pm; and finally a community feast at the Japanese Language Hall.

We continue to call for a national inquiry that is led by family and community members and that centers our experiences, need for healing, and quest for answers, concrete action, and meaningful justice.

This event is organized and led by women in the DTES because women – especially Indigenous women – face physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual violence on a daily basis. The February 14th Women’s Memorial March is an opportunity to come together to grieve the loss of our beloved sisters, remember the women who are still missing, and to dedicate ourselves to justice.

* SUPPORT THE WOMEN’S MEMORIAL MARCH

There are many ways to support the Feb 14th Women’s Memorial March:

1) ATTEND: Spread the word and join us (all genders welcome) to the Feb 14th march. We respectfully ask that you please do not bring your banners, flags, or leaflets as the Women’s Memorial March carries five banners only to honour the women.

2) PLAN: Plan a memorial march in your community. Last year, memorial marches were held in approximately twenty other cities and communities. Please email us the details at hwalia8@gmail.com so we can maintain communication, compile the information on our website, and build strength in our coordinated efforts.

3) DONATE: Please donate. The February 14th Women’s Memorial March is made possible by organizations and individuals like you. Please make cheques payable to the Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre, and include Feb 14th Women’s Memorial March on the memo line. Mail cheques to the Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre, 302 Columbia St. Vancouver, BC V6A 4J1. All donations over $10 will be gratefully acknowledged with a tax deductible receipt. Our donation letter is here: https://womensmemorialmarch.wordpress.com/2014/12/14/24th-annual-february-14th-womens-memorial-march-needs-your-help/

Thank you all for your support and commitment,
Feb 14th Women’s Memorial March Committee

Website: https://womensmemorialmarch.wordpress.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/womensmemorialmarch/

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25th Annual Feb 14th Women’s Memorial March

25th Annual Feb 14th Women’s Memorial March

Saturday Feb 14th, 2015
March starts at noon from Carnegie (Main and Hastings)

Web: https://womensmemorialmarch.wordpress.com/2014/12/27/march/
FB RSVP: https://www.facebook.com/events/1015580831792687
Download full-colour poster here and half-page leaflet here

The first women’s memorial march was held in 1991 in response to the murder of a Coast Salish woman on Powell Street in Vancouver. Her name is not spoken today out of respect for the wishes of her family. Out of this sense of hopelessness and anger came an annual march on Valentine’s Day to express compassion, community, and caring for all women in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, Unceded Coast Salish Territories.

Twenty five years later, the women’s memorial march continues to honour the lives of missing and murdered women. Increasing deaths of many vulnerable women from the DTES still leaves family, friends, loved ones, and community members with an overwhelming sense of grief and loss. Indigenous women disproportionately continue to go missing or be murdered with minimal to no action to address these tragedies or the systemic nature of gendered violence, poverty, racism, or colonialism.

On Saturday Feb 14th 2015, we will gather at 11 am at the Carnegie Community Centre Theatre, 401 Main Street (corner Hastings, Vancouver) where family members speak in remembrance. Given space constraints, we ask the broader public to join us at noon, when the march takes to the streets and proceeds through the Downtown Eastside, with stops to commemorate where women were last seen or found; speeches by community activists at the court house; a healing circle at Oppenheimer Park around 2:30 pm; and finally a community feast at the Japanese Language Hall.

We continue to call for a national and international public inquiry that is led by family and community members and that centers our experiences, need for healing, and quest for answers, concrete action, and meaningful justice.

This event is organized and led by women in the DTES because women – especially Indigenous women – face physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual violence on a daily basis. The February 14th Women’s Memorial March is an opportunity to come together to grieve the loss of our beloved sisters, remember the women who are still missing, and to dedicate ourselves to justice.

* SUPPORT THE WOMEN’S MEMORIAL MARCH

There are many ways to support the Feb 14th Women’s Memorial March:

1) Spread the word and join us (all genders welcome) to the Feb 14th march. We respectfully ask that you please do not bring your banners, flags, or leaflets as the Women’s Memorial March carries five banners only to honour the women.

2) Plan a memorial march in your community. Last year, memorial marches were held in approximately twenty other cities and communities. If you are organizing a memorial march please email us the details at hwalia8@gmail.com so we can maintain communication, compile the information on our website, and build strength in our coordinated efforts.

3) Please donate. The February 14th Women’s Memorial March is made possible by organizations and individuals like you. Each year the Memorial March committee must raise funds to pay for such things as hall rental, sound system, food, red & yellow roses, memorial brochures, blankets, posters, candles, tobacco and other expenses. Please make cheques payable to the Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre, and include Feb 14th Women’s Memorial March on the memo line. Mail cheques to the Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre, 302 Columbia St. Vancouver, BC V6A 4J1. All donations over $10 will be gratefully acknowledged with a tax deductible receipt. Our donation letter is here: https://womensmemorialmarch.wordpress.com/2014/12/14/24th-annual-february-14th-womens-memorial-march-needs-your-help/

Thank you all for your support and commitment,
Feb 14th Women’s Memorial March Committee

Website: https://womensmemorialmarch.wordpress.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=264380380945

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23rd Annual Feb 14th Women’s Memorial March

23rd Annual Feb 14th Women’s Memorial March

Friday Feb 14th, 2014
March starts at noon from Carnegie (Main and Hastings)

On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/649903748374268/

The first women’s memorial march was held in 1991 in response to the murder of a Coast Salish woman on Powell Street in Vancouver. Her name is not spoken today out of respect for the wishes of her family. Out of this sense of hopelessness and anger came an annual march on Valentine’s Day to express compassion, community, and caring for all women in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, Unceded Coast Salish Territories. Twenty three years later, the women’s memorial march continues to honour the lives of missing and murdered women.

On Friday Feb 14th 2014, we will gather at 11 am at the Carnegie Community Centre Theatre, 401 Main Street (corner Hastings, Vancouver) where family members speak in remembrance. Given space constraints, we ask the broader public to join us at noon, when the march takes to the streets and proceeds through the Downtown Eastside, with stops to commemorate where women were last seen or found; speeches by community activists at the court house; a healing circle at Oppenheimer Park around 2:30 pm; and finally a community feast at the Japanese Language Hall.

Increasing deaths of many vulnerable women from the DTES still leaves family, friends, loved ones, and community members with an overwhelming sense of grief and loss. Women continue to go missing or be murdered with minimal to no action to address these tragedies or the systemic nature of gendered violence, poverty, racism, or colonialism. In light of the sham provincial inquiry, we are calling for a national and international public inquiry that is led by family and community members and that centers their experiences, need for healing, and quest for answers, concrete action, and meaningful justice.

This event is organized and led by women in the DTES because women – especially Indigenous women – face physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual violence on a daily basis. The February 14th Women’s Memorial March is an opportunity to come together to grieve the loss of our beloved sisters, remember the women who are still missing, and to dedicate ourselves to justice.

* SUPPORT THE WOMEN’S MEMORIAL MARCH

There are many ways to support the Feb 14th Women’s Memorial March:

1) Spread the word and join us (all genders welcome) to the Feb 14th march. We respectfully ask that you please do not bring your banners, flags, or leaflets as the Women’s Memorial March carries five banners only to honour the women.

2) Plan a memorial march in your community. Last year, memorial marches were held in approximately ten other cities and communities. If you are organizing a memorial march please email us the details at hwalia8@gmail.com so we can maintain communication, compile the information on our website, and build strength in our coordinated efforts.

3) Please donate. The February 14th Women’s Memorial March is made possible by organizations and individuals like you. Each year the Memorial March committee must raise funds to pay for such things as hall rental, sound system, food, red & yellow roses, memorial brochures, blankets, posters, candles, tobacco and other expenses. Please make cheques payable to the Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre, and include Feb 14th Women’s Memorial March on the memo line. Mail cheques to the Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre, 302 Columbia St. Vancouver, BC V6A 4J1. All donations over $10 will be gratefully acknowledged with a tax deductible receipt.

Thank you all for your support and commitment,
Feb 14th Women’s Memorial March Committee

Website: https://womensmemorialmarch.wordpress.com/
Phone: 778-833-3094
Email: killerwhalecan@shaw.ca (Committee Chair Marlene George)
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=264380380945 or search “FEBRUARY 14 WOMEN’S MEMORIAL MARCH DTES VANCOUVER”

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22nd Annual Feb 14th Women’s Memorial March

22nd Annual Feb 14th Women’s Memorial March

FB: https://www.facebook.com/events/488831777821558/
Web: https://womensmemorialmarch.wordpress.com/2013/01/13/22nd-annual-feb-14th-womens-memorial-march/

THURSDAY FEB 14TH 2013
March starts at noon from Carnegie (Main and Hastings)

* Please NOTE that this year the march starts one hour earlier *

The first women’s memorial march was held in 1991 in response to the murder of a Coast Salish woman on Powell Street in Vancouver. Her name is not spoken today out of respect for the wishes of her family. Out of this sense of hopelessness and anger came an annual march on Valentine’s Day to express compassion, community, and caring for all women in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, Unceded Coast Salish Territories. Twenty two years later, the women’s memorial march continues to honour the lives of missing and murdered women.

On Thursday Feb 14th 2013, we will gather at 11 am at the Carnegie Community Centre Theatre, 401 Main Street (corner Hastings, Vancouver) where family members speak in remembrance. Given space constraints, we ask the broader public to join us at noon, when the march takes to the streets and proceeds through the Downtown Eastside, with stops to commemorate where women were last seen or found; speeches by community activists at the court house; a healing circle at Oppenheimer Park around 2:30 pm; and finally a community feast at the Japanese Language Hall.

Increasing deaths of many vulnerable women from the DTES still leaves family, friends, loved ones, and community members with an overwhelming sense of grief and loss. This year, the Women’s Memorial March occurs in the context of the provincial missing women’s inquiry, which marginalized the voices and experiences of DTES residents, Indigenous communities, and women’s groups. Women continue to go missing or be murdered with no action from any level of government to address these tragedies or the systemic nature of gendered violence, poverty, racism, or colonialism. We are calling for a national public inquiry and continue to seek justice internationally with submissions at the level of the UN.

This event is organized and led by women in the DTES because women – especially Indigenous women – face physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual violence on a daily basis. The February 14th Women’s Memorial March is an opportunity to come together to grieve the loss of our beloved sisters, remember the women who are still missing, and to dedicate ourselves to justice.

* SUPPORT THE WOMEN’S MEMORIAL MARCH

There are many ways to support the Feb 14th Women’s Memorial March:

1) Spread the word and join us (all genders welcome) to the Feb 14th march. We respectfully ask that you please do not bring your banners, flags, or leaflets as the Women’s Memorial March carries five banners only to honour the women.

2) Plan a memorial march in your community. Last year, memorial marches were held in approximately ten other cities and communities. If you are organizing a memorial march please email us the details at marlene.george@vancouver.ca and hwalia8@gmail.com so we can maintain communication, compile the information on our website, and build strength in our coordinated efforts.

3) If you want to help volunteer (setup, cleanup, serving food etc) on the day of and can commit to 2-hour shifts between 8 am and 6 pm, please email hwalia8@gmail.com

Thank you all for your support and commitment,
Feb 14th Women’s Memorial March Committee

Website: https://womensmemorialmarch.wordpress.com/
Phone: 604 665 3005
Email: marlene.george@vancouver.ca (Committee Chair Marlene George)
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=264380380945 or search “FEBRUARY 14 WOMEN’S MEMORIAL MARCH DTES VANCOUVER”

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Gathering: Missing Womens Commission of Inquiry Report Being Released

On Monday December 17th, the Missing Women’s Commission of Inquiry report by Wally Oppal will be released by the provincial government to the public.

———————————
Monday December 17th from 8:30 am till 2 pm
In the courtyard between the Morris J Wosk Centre for Dialogue and Delta Vancouver Suites.
(courtyard on Seymour Street between 550 and 580 West Hastings)
Vancouver, Unceded Coast Salish Territories
Bring drums and candles.
——————————–

Come support family members – many of whom were initially denied travel assistance – who have only a few hours to review the report before it is made public.

The Missing Women’s Inquiry has been a sham inquiry since the beginning – the voices and experiences of DTES residents, Aboriginal organizations, and womens groups were shut out, family members needs and wishes have been and continue to be blatantly disregarded and disrespected, and the proceedings overly favoured and protected the police and police evidence. Even the Independent Counsel for Aboriginal Interests, appointed by the Commission itself, withdrew from the proceedings.

This sham inquiry has continued the marginalization of those whom it was supposed to serve: women, particularly Indigenous women, from the DTES. Women in the DTES and Indigenous women across these lands continue to go missing or be murdered as a result of gendered violence, poverty, racism, and colonialism.

The BC Missing Women’s Commission of Inquiry has been a disgrace, a betrayal, and a systemic failure. We affirm our support for family members and affected communities and reaffirm the call for full national inquiry as well as an independent international inquiry.

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Oct 4 – National Day of Action for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women

October 4, 2011
National Day of Action for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women

March begins at 4 pm at Victory Square (Cambie and Hastings)
If you are joining us around 5-5:30 pm, find us near Main and Hastings.
We will be ending with a ceremony at Oppenheimer Park.

October 4 is a National Day of Action for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. It is a national day of remembrance, respect, and demands for action. In the DTES, increasing deaths of many vulnerable women – overwhelmingly Indigenous women – still leaves family, friends, loved ones, and community members with an overwhelming sense of grief and loss. Every year the list of women going missing or been murdered also increases, most recently with the tragic death of our community member Verna Simard.

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20th Annual Women’s Memorial March in DTES

– Please forward this notice to your friends, family, and networks –

20th Annual Feb 14th Women’s Memorial March

~ Two weeks of commemoration events starting Jan 30 2011
~ Annual Women’s Memorial March on Monday, February 14 2011.

 

* Sun Jan 30: Women’s sweatlodge ceremony from 2-6 pm. By the DTES community garden (Hastings between Columbia and Main). Women-only sweat, open to all women. Followed by feast at Aboriginal Front Door (384 Main St)

* Month of Feb – Community Archival Display, 3rd floor Carnegie Centre (Main and Hastings). Carnegie is under construction and the 3rd floor is regrettably not wheel-chair accessible.

* Wed Feb 2 – Women’s Talking Circle at DEWC (302 Columbia) 5 – 8 pm. Dinner served at 5pm. Open to all self-identified women residents of the DTES.

* Thurs Feb 3 – Art Auction Fundraiser at Interurban (1 E. Hastings) from 6 – 9 pm. Music, great food, and of course art and arty things. Some of the artists featured are Garnet Tobacco, Ben Houstie, Laurie Marshall, Esther Rausenberg, Diane Jacobs, the women’s craft group from WISH, and many more.

* Fri Feb 4 – Craft Night at WISH Drop-in 6 pm. Open to members of WISH Drop-in.

* Sat Feb 5: “Women’s Expressions” Art Opening at Interurban (1 E. Hastings) from 4-6 pm with drum group Harmony of Nations and speakers from Women’s Memorial March Committee. Exhibit runs Feb 7th to Feb 12th from 12-5pm.

* Sat Feb 5 – “Honouring Our Women”: Poetry Night, Carnegie Centre (Main and Hastings). 7 pm. Free admission, everyone welcome, free refreshments Sheila Baxter, Dalannah Bowen, Maxine Gadd, Leith Harris, Muriel Marjorie, Shauna Paull, Priscillia Tait, Karenza Wall, M.C. Diane Wood and open mic.

*Mon Feb 7 – “Native Women: Power, Beauty, Resilience” at Aboriginal Front Door (384 Main St) from 2-6 pm. Open event for everyone to attend. Speakers, food, traditional Grandmothers and Mothers will drum.

* Mon Feb 7 – SFU First Nations and Women’s Studies class event. Poetry with Janet Rogers and Joanne Arnott, followed by screening of Finding Dawn. SFU Harbour Centre (515 West Hastings) from 1:30-4:30 pm. Discussion, and refreshments to follow screening.

* Tues Feb 8 – BWSS Women’s Craft Night at DEWC (302 Columbia) 5 – 8 pm. Dinner served at 5pm. Open to all self-identified women residents of the DTES.

* Wed Feb 9 – “Strength, Survival, Sisterhood”: Launch of DTES Power of Women movie, speakers from DTES, screening of “Finding Dawn”. Vivo Media Arts Centre (1965 Main Street). Doors at 6pm. Free and open to all. More information available by clicking here

* Fri Feb 11 – Night of Music at W2 (151 W.Cordova) w/Bitterly Divine, Murray Porter, Faith Nolan, Little Hawk & more. Doors at 7pm. Given limited space, event is for the DTES community only. We invite DTES agencies wishing to reserve free tickets for their members to email us at endingviolence@bwss.org.

* Mon Feb 14 – 20th Annual Womens Memorial March. Noon in Carnegie Theatre for families, friends, and DTES residents, 1 pm march starts at Main and Hastings – all welcome.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The first women’s memorial march was held in 1991 in response to the murder of a woman on Powell Street in Vancouver. Her name is not spoken today out of respect for the wishes of her family. Out of this sense of hopelessness and anger came an annual march on Valentine’s Day to express compassion, community, and caring for all women in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, Coast Salish Territories. Twenty years later, the women’s memorial march continues to honour the lives of missing and murdered women.

In its twentieth year, we are hosting a series of events leading up to the memorial march from Feb 1- Feb 14. These events will include film screenings, educational events, art installations, DTES women’s poetry, a music night, and more to honour the voices of women and women’s leadership in the Downtown Eastside.

On Feb 14th, we will gather at the Carnegie Community Centre Theatre, 401 Main Street (corner Hastings, Vancouver) where family members speak in remembrance. Given space constraints, we ask the broader public to join us at 1 pm, when the march takes to the streets and proceeds through the Downtown Eastside, with stops to commemorate where women were last seen or found; speeches by community activists at the police station; a healing circle at Oppenheimer Park around 3 pm; and finally a community feast at the Japanese Language Hall. This event is organized and led by women in the DTES because women, especially Indigenous women, face physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual violence on a daily basis.

Increasing deaths of many vulnerable women from the DTES still leaves family, friends, loved ones, and community members with an overwhelming sense of grief and loss. Over 3000 women are known to have gone missing or been murdered in Canada since the 1970s. Two years ago, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women issued this statement: “Hundreds of cases involving aboriginal women who have gone missing or been murdered in the past two decades have neither been fully investigated nor attracted priority attention.” The February 14th Women’s Memorial March is an opportunity to come together to grieve the loss of our beloved sisters, remember the women who are still missing, and to dedicate ourselves to justice.

* SUPPORT THE WOMEN’S MEMORIAL MARCH
There are many ways to support the Annual Women’s Memorial March:

1) Join us. Please join us (all genders welcome) to our events and to the Feb 14th march. We respectfully ask that you please do not bring your banners, flags, or leaflets as the Women’s Memorial March carries five banners only to honour the women.

2) Plan a memorial march in your community. We encourage women in other cities and communities to journey and heal together by organizing memorials on this day because women face violence on a daily basis. Last year, memorial marches were held in approximately ten other cities and communities. If you are organizing a memorial march please email us the details at marlene.george@vancouver.ca so we can maintain communication, compile the information on our website, and build strength in our coordinated efforts.

3) Organize an event. If you are a community centre, youth association, union, women’s group, educational institution, Indigenous organization, social justice collective, or artist space in the Lower Mainland and want to host an event during Feb 1-Feb 14, we encourage you to do so and to contact us. We can provide suggestions for speakers or films for your event, and we support a wide spectrum of individuals and groups raising awareness about the issue of missing and murdered women. We are compiling events on our website, so please email us details of your event at hwalia8@gmail.com.

4) Please donate. The February 14th Women’s Memorial March is made possible by organizations and individuals like you. Each year the Memorial March committee must raise funds to pay for such things as hall rental, sound system, food, red & yellow roses, memorial brochures, blankets, posters, candles, tobacco and other expenses. Our donation letter, in full, is here. Please make cheques payable to the Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre, and include Women’s Memorial March on the memo line. Mail cheques to the Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre, 302 Columbia St. Vancouver, BC V6A 4J1. All donations over $10 will be gratefully acknowledged with a tax deductible receipt.

Violence against women is always unacceptable; every life is precious and we must continue to honour and work for justice for murdered and missing women.

Thank you all for your support and commitment,
Women’s Memorial March Committee

Website: https://womensmemorialmarch.wordpress.com/
Phone: 604 665 3005
Email: marlene.george@vancouver.ca (Committee Chair Marlene George)
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=264380380945 or search “FEBRUARY 14 WOMEN’S MEMORIAL MARCH DTES VANCOUVER”

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19th Annual Women’s Memorial March

– please forward this notice to your friends, family, and networks –

The 19th Annual Feb 14th Womens Memorial March takes place on Sunday, February 14 2010 and begins at 12pm.

At noon, we gather at the Carnegie Community Centre Theatre, 401 Main Street (corner Hastings, Vancouver) where family members speak in remembrance. At 1 pm, the march takes to the streets and proceeds through the Downtown Eastside, with stops to commemorate where women were last seen or found; speeches by community activists at the police station; a healing circle at Oppenheimer Park around 3 pm; and finally a community feast at the Japanese Language Hall.

In January 1991 a woman was murdered on Powell Street in Vancouver. Her name is not spoken today out of respect for the wishes of her family. This woman’s murder in particular was the catalyst that moved women into action. Out of this sense of hopelessness and anger came an annual march on Valentine’s Day to express compassion, community, and caring for all women in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, Coast Salish Territories.

Nineteen years later, the march continues to honour the lives of missing and murdered women. Increasing deaths of many vulnerable women from the DTES still leaves family, friends, loved ones, and community members with an overwhelming sense of grief and loss. Over 3000 women are known to have gone missing or been murdered in Canada since the 1970s. Last year, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women issued this statement: “Hundreds of cases involving aboriginal women who have gone missing or been murdered in the past two decades have neither been fully investigated nor attracted priority attention.”

Please respect the memorial march and the leadership of those organizing it. This event is organized and led by women in the DTES because women, especially Indigenous women, face physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual violence on a daily basis.  This is a memorial not a protest; it is a deeply emotional time for family members and women affected especially in Vancouver’s DTES. We ask that you please do not bring your banners, flags, or leaflets as the Women’s Memorial March carries five banners only to honour the women.

The February 14th Women’s Memorial March is an opportunity to come together to grieve the loss of our beloved sisters, remember the women who are still missing, and to dedicate ourselves to justice.  Please join us (all genders welcome) and we thank you for your support of the Women’s Memorial March.

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