Rally in Iqaluit calls for end to injustice faced by Indigenous people
Residents marched to the Elders' Qammaq in support of Colten Boushie and Tina Fontaine
People in Iqaluit shed tears and leaned on one another during a rally to show solidarity with the families of Tina Fontaine, Colten Boushie and the communities affected by missing and murdered Indigenous women Tuesday evening.
In early February, a Saskatchewan jury found Gerald Stanley not guilty in the death of 22-year-old Boushie, who was fatally shot in August of 2016. Nearly two weeks later, a jury in Winnipeg found Raymond Cormier not guilty in 15-year-old Fontaine's murder.
- Jury finds Raymond Cormier not guilty in death of Tina Fontaine
- Shouts of 'murderer' in courtroom after Gerald Stanley acquitted in Colten Boushie shooting
"It's so important to have the time to see each other, to look each other in the eye and acknowledge how much pain exists ... to know within that pain there is something we can do together as a community," said Laakkuluk Williamson Bathory, one of the rally organizers.
The group of about 60 people marched to the Elders' Qammaq, where organizer Victor Tootoo said the biggest goal was to create a safe space for people to talk.
"There are people that fear for the safety of their children as a result of these two verdicts," said Tootoo.
"This is something that is happening all across Canada and that is something we heard loud and clear."
He said people discussed the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples — talking about the importance of Inuit, and all Indigenous people, asserting their rights.
Tootoo said he wants youth to continue that conversation and for communities to implement any recommendations they make.
Trina Qaqqaq attended the rally because she said Indigenous and non-Indigenous people need to stand together in support of reconciliation.
"It's one thing to talk about these kinds of things," said Qaqqaq. "But why do we need to get to this point before we start having these discussions and before we start being able to support one another?"
She said hearing that the people accused in the deaths of Boushie and Fontaine were acquitted was hard.
"I cried multiple times a day for a week," Qaqqaq said, adding racism is very much alive in Canada.
"It's heartbreaking. I don't have any words."