Family like those of Monica Burns will soon be asked for input on a special project. (file photo/paNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

Community initiatives

Special monument planned in Prince Albert to honour MMIW

Feb 4, 2020 | 12:16 PM

A monument to help honour and pay tribute to missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls may have a home on Prince Albert’s riverbank by later this summer.

The Sisters in Spirit project was the idea of the Prince Albert Grand Council (PAGC) Executive, who submitted a proposal to the federal government, and received the green light.

Shirley Henderson, chair of the PAGC Women’s Commission, has been involved with the project from the beginning.

“We’ve been having missing brothers and sisters memorial walks for close to 20 years now and we wanted to have something more, so we came up with the idea of having a monument where people could gather, say their prayers and remember their loved ones,” she said.

In addition to the names of names of MMIWG, the monument will also include LGBTQ2 individuals. At this stage, the final design is still being worked out, but Henderson said they hope to have the monument on the riverbank near the provincial courthouse.

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“One idea we had is a lady in a powwow dress with her shawl spread out,” she said, adding they hope to have a local artist involved with the final work.

Michelle Burns, whose twin sister Monica Burns was murdered in 2015, told paNOW she appreciates the idea for the project.

“I know there’s a lot of families in the North that probably would like to honour their loved ones and have a place to go,” she said.

A project committee was formed with representatives from the women’s commission, as well as Prince Albert Indian Métis Friendship Centre, Mayor Greg Dionne, and Jason Stonechild, the deputy chief for the Prince Albert Police Service.

Project manager Shauna Bighetty was tasked with interviewing families and elders to collect data and ideas. Burns said it means a lot to the families who have lost ones, to have a chance to be involved.

The Burns’ family was one of many families in Saskatchewan, to provide input for the 1,200 page report from the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIW) Inquiry. The report contained over 200 recommendations for multiple levels of government, police, and even the media.

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nigel.maxwell@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell