'A sense of hope': Edmonton march honours missing, murdered Indigenous people

Melanie Dene remembers walking down an Edmonton street when a car pulled up and the man inside asked:"How much?"

Dene, who was 16 at the time, said she felt terrified.She kept her head down, ignoring the man.

"I just kept walking," Dene recalled.

He followed her in his car. Fortunately, Denewas able to hail a nearby taxi and escape the situation.

Years later, she grimaces at the memory. She could have become one of Canada'smissing and murderedIndigenous women, Dene said.

Her cousin'sstory ended differently. ShellyDenedisappeared in 2013, leaving behind herfive-year-old son.

"I have no idea where she is," Dene said Sunday."We're just hopeful that one day she will come home."

Denecarried a picture of her cousin at the 10th annual Stolen Sisters and Brothers Awareness Walk in Edmonton.

• Inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women postpones Edmonton meetings

More than 100 people gathered Sunday at city hall to honour the lives of murdered and missing Indigenous girls, boys, women and men.

"There is a lot of sorrow, but there is a lot of strength," said April Eve Wiberg, who helped organize the event.

"Having events like this where anyone can come and gather and show their support and get the support back from the community ...it gives you a sense of hope that there is support out there and answers will be found and justice will be served."

After a ceremony at city hall, the group marched through downtown Edmonton. Theycarriedposters and banners with the faces of loved ones who may never be seen again.

"No more stolen sisters, no more stolen brothers," they chanted.

• One-quarter of all female homicide victims in Canada in 2015 were Indigenous

Indigenous women in Canada are almost six times more likely to be murdered than non-Indigenous women, according to data gathered by Statistics Canada between 2001 and 2015.

They accounted for one-quarter of the country'sfemale homicide victims in 2015.

The federal government has launched an independent national inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. Public hearings started last month in Whitehorse.

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