SAULT STE. MARIE -- People in Sault Ste. Marie might be noticing a new window art display at a local gallery in the city's downtown core.
The Indigenous Women's anti-violence task force has set up the display to mark the annual Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls March, which was supposed to take place on Feb. 14.
"We want them to have some hope," said Donna St. Jules of the Métis Nation of Ontario in a video published to social media. "We want to send messages to them and let them know that you are loved, you are important, you are valuable."
The display was put up by the task force after the pandemic forced the cancellation of the march.
As a father of two girls himself, the chief of the Garden River First Nation said the issue hits close to home for him.
"When you kind of put things in perspective of how it hits home, it becomes clear that this is not just a Manitoba issue or a western Canada issue," said Chief Andy Rickard. "This is a Canadian issue, right, it’s happening all over."
Rickard said the display and a coinciding video published online were to raise awareness and build support for issues affecting Indigenous women and girls.
He said it also served as a call to action for Canadian leaders.
"Let’s reset this relationship," he said. "Let’s figure out collectively how we can kind of support each other and determine how and what that looks like in terms of protecting our women, because we all know that our people are disadvantaged."
The display will remain up until March 9.
