'These women are loved': Winnipeg March remembers missing and murdered Indigenous women

Dozens of people gathered in Winnipeg on Tuesday evening holding signs and photos with the images and names of missing and murdered Indigenous women.

The group gathered for the Women's Memorial March of Manitoba at Riddell Hall at the University of Winnipeg, then walked through the streets of downtown.

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The annual march gives support to the women's families and shows "that their memories still live on with us," said organizer Tasha Spillett.

"These women are loved and important parts of our families," she said.

"Statistics are terrible story tellers. Statistics don't talk about how valued each and every one of these women are to our families and our nations."

Following the march, people gathered for a feast and to unveil the We Care Quilt. The quilt was made by Indigenous and non-Indigenous community members to show that violence against Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people cannot be tolerated, a Facebook page for the march said.

The quilt was permanently installed outside the Hive, a meeting spot at the university.

Spillett said it's very important to engage all community members because the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women isn't only an issue for Indigenous people.

"I think that with the climate of the world that we are in right now it's really important to centre love, to centre community and to build on those feelings," she said.

"Really, it's on all of our communities to come up with solutions," she added.