Sagkeeng statue represents healing for MMIWG families

A newly unveiled design for a monument to Sagkeeng First Nation's missing and murdered represents a step towards healing. But an advocate who helped make the statue happen worries the upcoming inquiry hearings in Manitoba could undo their progress.

The design of the six-foot-high statue, representing an indigenous girl dressed in full regalia, was designed in consultations with families whose loved ones, male and female alike,have gone missing or been murdered.

A CBC analysis showed that Sagkeeng hasthe highest number of unsolved cases of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls from a singlecommunity in all of Canada.

Lillian Cook says it has taken years for the families to reach the point in their healing where they were able to say what they wanted to see in the monument.

"The families in Sagkeeng are in a better place because of all of the work that they've done, they've been a part of it, they've been a part of their own healing, their own growth," she said.

At first, some people suggested a headstone with the names of the missing and murdered, but one grandmother objected, saying that is unfair to the families who are still looking, Cook said. They drew inspiration from a similar statue in Saskatoon of a fancy shawl dancer, and that is how they settled on final design of the girl.

The statue incorporates elements representing some of the missing and murdered, such as blueberries, which were Tina Fontaine's favourite fruit, Cook said.

Cook hopes that people will be drawn to the girl's beauty.

"Our women always looked after themselves, way back since time immemorial, our women honoured their hair, our women honoured themselves with anything that they did. Everything that they did was ceremony, even combing their hair was a part of ceremony," she said.

Inquiry hearings start Monday

Monday marks the beginning of five days of hearings for the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls in Manitoba. Around 75 family members are expected to share their stories with the commissioners, including during public hearings which will be streamed online.

Cook and other volunteers have spent the last several years working with family members in small groups and private sessions, and, although they have come a long way, Cook fears the impact that speaking in this forum could have.

"I can't just imagine the families from Sagkeeng going to an inquiry unprepared, going without having any form of healing ahead of time, just going in to be traumatized, to be sharing your story in public with an audience," she said.

"For me I just think they'll be unprepared and for me, I just think it's a little dangerous."

The public hearings will take place at the Radisson Hotel on Portage Avenue from Oct. 16 to 20.

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