Canada's third Annual Sisters in Spirit Vigil to be held Oct. 4

Focusing attention on the crisis of murdered and missing Aboriginal women

Ottawa (2 Oct. 2008) - The third annual Sisters in Spirit Vigil will take place Oct. 4 across Canada to honour murdered and missing Aboriginal women and their families.

Sisters in Spirit (SIS) is an initiative launched by the Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) to address the issue of the hundreds of Aboriginal women who have either disappeared or have been found murdered in Canada over the past few decades.

Currently 37 communities in eight provinces will host Vigils to draw attention to this crisis and to put pressure on all levels of governments to act. More information NWAC website

NWAC will co-host a national vigil on Parliament Hill in Ottawa with Amnesty International and KAIROS. A special feature this year will be the release of hundreds of environmentally friendly SIS balloons to spread messages of healing and hope.

NWAC president Bev Jacobs and Amnesty International Canada’s president Alex Neve will address the crowd. As well Chief Phil Fontaine will be attending for the first time.

The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) encourages all Canadians to participate and support the vigil and to show solidarity in raising awareness of the need to address the violence facing Aboriginal women.

NUPGE International Women’s Projects

At the National Union’s 2006 conference, Building International Sisterhood, NUPGE announced that it would be developing partnerships with four women's projects, one of which is the Sisters in Spirit initiative. At NUPGE’s 2007 Triennial Convention a resolution was passed to provide support to the projects for three additional years. NUPGE