In this piece, I hope that people will be encouraged to understand that the missing and murdered women all have names and that they are not people that no one cares about.  We know that there are hundreds, maybe more, women who are missing and unaccounted for to their families and loved ones and I believe that those loved ones want to know what happened to them in order to find peace, comfort and closure.  It is the duty of the white colonialists to take a stand, to speak out, and to take action to end violence against women, girls, and two-spirit people.  I believe that this must start will saying the names of these women in order to acknowledge their existence as women, mothers, daughters, sisters, grandmothers, aunties, and loved ones.  The Calls for Justice places the responsibility upon all Canadians to take action and as such we must in order to save the lives of Indigenous women, girls, and two-spirit people. 

Heather Johnson

 References:
 Carrier Sekani Famiily Services. (n.d). Highway of tears: Preventing violence against women.                  Retrieved on November 2, 2019 from https://www.highwayoftears.ca. 
 CBC News. (2014). First Nations transform residential school into Blue Quills College. Retrieved on November 2, 2019 from https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/first-nations-transform-residential-school-into-blue-quills-college-1.2586161 
 CBC News. (2019). What do you really know about the Indian Act?. Retrieved on November 2,              2019 from https://www.cbc.ca/radio/secretlifeofcanada/what-do-you-really-know-about-the-indian-act-1.5188255 
 CJSW, 90.9FM. (2016). Chantal Changnon’s Women’s Warrior Song.  Retrieved on November               3, 2019 from https://soundcloud.com/cjsw-90-9-fm/chantal-changnons-womens-warrior-song 
 Kameir, Rawiya. (2014). Canada’s highways of tears and the women we forgot. Retrieved on                  November 2, 2019 from https://gawker.com/canadas-highway-of-tears-and-the-women-we-forgot-1579002464  
 National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. (2019). Reclaiming               power and place: Executive summary of the final report.
 The Alberta Teacher’s Association. (2019). Indigenous Education and Walking Together.  Retrieved on November 3, 2019 from https://www.teachers.ab.ca/For%20Members/Professional%20Development/IndigenousEducationandWalkingTogether/Pages/WalkingTogether.aspx 
 The Canadian Press. (2018). 5000 people have use the highway of tears buses in the first year of service. Retrieved on November 2, 2019 from https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/highway-of-tears-bus-year-one-1.4517211