Women's Memorial

The Women's Memorial March is an annual event held every February 14th to honor missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls (MMIWG) across Canada and the United States. The event also serves as a protest against class disparity, racism, inequality, and violence. Originating in 1992 in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, Canada following the murder of Cheryl Ann Joe, a local Indigenous woman, the event began as a small memorial and has since grown into an annual march recognizing all MMIWG. In the Downtown East Side, the March commences at the intersection of Main and Hastings and proceeds through downtown, pausing at bars, strip clubs, alleys, and parking lots where women's bodies have been discovered. The name of each woman is read aloud along with the name(s) of direct family members (e.g., "daughter of..." or "mother of...") before the family and supporters pause to grieve.