For the 12th year, a memorial march will be taking place in Maple Ridge to bring awareness to the missing and murdered Indigenous women locally and across the country.
But, for the founder of that march, the meaning of the event is much more.
Yvonne Desabrais started the march in Maple Ridge in the memory of her mother, who was abducted, and eventually released, by her attacker.
Desabrais said they were fortunate that their mother’s attacker didn’t kill her, and her mother didn’t disappear like so many other Indigenous women throughout the country. But, noted Desabrais, her mother was never the same.
“She didn’t really live, she just was alive,” said Desabrais about the 12 years her mother lived after her release.
Her mother died weeks before the perpetrator was caught, after police matched his DNA to the crime. He would be sentenced to 12 years in prison.
“She never knew that they found him. So, she lived those 12 years not knowing,” said Desabrais.
This year, on Feb. 14, the day of the march, her mother’s attacker will be released from prison after serving his time, and given the significance of the number 12 this year, Desabrais feels a sense of closure.
She is grateful that her family got answers, that thy were given a process, and they felt they had justice in their mother’s case, even if they felt that justice was not enough.
“There’s so many families out there who never get that,” she said, adding that is another reason why she plans out the march every year – to provide a space for others to come and share their pain.
“To know they are not alone,” she said.
Although Desabrais started the march for her own healing process, she has felt the love from others who have attended and expressed their gratitude to her.
“It’s painful. It hurts. And, sometimes it’s just nice to be around people who understand that pain,” she said.
“You don’t even have to talk about it. You’re standing with someone who gets it. You don’t have to explain anything, because they understand,” added Desabrais.
This year’s event takes place Saturday, Feb. 14, starting at about 11:30 a.m. at the bandstand in Memorial Peace Park, between Lougheed Highway and Dewdney Trunk Road on 224 Street, downtown Maple Ridge.
Attendees are encouraged to wear red, wear a ribbon skirt or shirt, bring a drum, or bring a photo of a loved one or person whom they are marching for.
Smudging will be offered.
The march will begin at 12:15 p.m., which will be around a 15 minute walk around the downtown core before heading back to the bandstand.
Then Desabrais will end the event in a sharing circle where people will be able to express their thoughts and feelings – if they would like.
Last year around 50 people attended, some of whom read poems and expressed what they were feeling at that moment.
Desabrais hopes that people who attend will be able to share their energies to bring home those missing and murdered individuals.
But, she is also hoping there will be a time in the future when Indigenous peoples will find equality and they won’t have to march.
“There needs to come a day when we don’t do this. There needs to come a day where Indigenous women and children and men are not viewed as ‘less than’ in this country. Where it matters to find them,” she said.