Missing, murdered indigenous women's families grieve at special ceremony

With hundreds ofindigenous girls and women murdered or missing across Canada, the families of victims in B.C. held amourning ceremony in Prince George.

The B.C government invitedfamily members ofvictims to a three-day,private gathering there this week, which washeld not far from the Highway of Tearswhere 18 girls or women have been murdered or gone missing.

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As part of a mourning ceremony at the gathering,each family who'd lost a loved one sent one personto sit on the stage.

"The stage was filled to over capacity," said CarrierSekaniTribal Council Chief TerryTeegee, who's losttwo family members. "Too many of our sisters are gone."

Families broken by grief

Lilllian Howard travelled from Vancouver Island to attend the gathering. She lost her two young aunts, Helena and Christine Howard,to violence more than 30 years ago.

"People don't deal with it," said Howard. "They grieve for a little whileand then they put iton hold. We were a large, large family, and that just brokethe family apart.I'm here to go through the healing process with other families."

"We should not be targets," said Howard."We're mothers and daughters and sisters ... this national inquiry that's coming up, we're ready for it."

Teegee saidit's emotional and powerful forthe families of B.C.'s murdered and missing Aboriginal women and girls to share their grief and find strength in each other.

"It is an historic day to see change for indigenous women in this province.I am a witness."