Hundreds dressed in red gathered in downtown Victoria on Feb. 14 to participate in the 17th annual Stolen Sisters Memorial March to honour missing and murdered Indigenous Peoples.
The W̱SÁNEĆ Wolf Pack led the march from Centennial Square through Government Street towards the legislature. The march formed a large circle at each intersection along Government Street for song and dance performed by the Wolf Pack, each a tribute to the disproportionate number of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG).
Patrick Leon, the leader of the Pack, accompanied each performance with calls to action, justice, and community building. At a certain point, Leon highlighted the important roles men play in protecting the women in their community from violence by turning towards love rather than anger.
“Truth be told: it starts with us men,” said Leon,” [men] need to learn to love themselves to care for the women in their lives and lead an example for [our] youth.”
The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) reports that despite Indigenous people making up only 4.3 per cent of the Canadian population, they make up 16 per cent of total homicide victims and 11 per cent of reported missing women. This makes Indigenous women four times more likely than non-Indigenous women to experience violence.
Since 2019, the federal government has only implemented two of the 231 calls for justice made by the AFN to bring justice to MMIWG.
“I want to be the last generation that is fighting for our girls, our Two Spirit, our 2SLGBTQIA+, our men and our boys,” event organizer Monique May said to the crowd.
The intersection between Government and Belleville Street saw a solemn tribute to the families affected by the disappearances of Indigenous Peoples. Victims gathered in the centre of the circle to hold each other and grieve as the Wolf Pack performed their tribute to the victims.
The legislature marked the penultimate location of the march, where organizers Monique May and Sheila Jones both spoke and invited individual speakers to share their personal experiences related to missing and murdered Indigenous Peoples.
Victoria Police Chief Constable Fiona Wilson was invited to offer the closing speech. She did so out-of-uniform.
“It is not lost on me that the relationship between Indigenous people and the police has been a very, very difficult one,” Wilson said, “and I am absolutely – in my role – [trying] to do everything I can to try and repair some of those relationships as we move forward together.”
Ongoing Investigations
The disappearance of 34-year-old Rosemarie Harry of Quwut’sun Nation is still being investigated. She was last seen in Duncan on Jan. 28, 2026 when she met with her social worker, and was reported missing on Feb. 4.
Rosemarie’s sudden disappearance is unnatural according to her family members and social worker. Her social worker, Myra Antoniuk, said Rosemarie was on track to gain custody of her children and that she regularly stayed in contact with those closest to her.
Rosemarie Harry is described to be five feet tall, 141 pounds, with dyed blonde hair. The North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP ask that any information regarding Harry’s disappearance be reported to 250-748-5522 immediately.
June 29, 2026 will also mark 24 years since the disappearance of Tla-o-qui-aht woman Lisa Marie Young. Lisa was 21-years-old when she was last seen celebrating a friend’s birthday at a nightclub in Nanaimo right before accepting a ride from a man driving an old red Jaguar. She was never heard from again.
The Nanaimo RCMP identified the Jaguar as belonging to a man named Christopher William Adair. He has since been named a person of interest in the case but has not been charged with Lisa’s disappearance. Adair was recently found to be living in the city of Fethiye, Türkiye, a popular holiday destination, since 2017.
Lisa Marie Young’s case is now being treated as a homicide. A $50,000 USD reward is currently being offered in exchange for Young’s remains. Any information about the ongoing case is to immediately be reported to the Nanaimo RCMP at 250-754-2345.
