'She was a human being': sister of murdered woman at Saskatoon rally
CBC News | Posted: October 5, 2015 2:26 AM | Last Updated: October 5, 2015
Sister of late Maxine Wapass honours her on MMIW National Day of Remembrance
Close to 200 people rallied in Saskatoon on Sunday to remember indigenous women who are missing or who have been murdered.
It was one of a number of rallies that took place across Canada to mark MMIW National Day of Remembrance.
In Saskatoon, many wore red as they walked along 20th St. W. and Avenue P before gathering at Station 20 West to hear from several speakers.
Marilyn Wapass, whose sister Maxine Wapass went missing in 2001, was in the crowd. Her 23-year-old sister's body was found in a shallow grave in a bush near Asquith, Sask., and her remains were identified in 2002.
"It's a sadness that never leaves you," she said.
Wapass said she was at the rally to honour her sister's life.
"She was a human being," she said.
"Nobody has that right to take another person's life. But yet it's still happening."
Wapass wants political parties to take the issue seriously and act on recommendations that have already been made when it comes to stemming violence against indigenous women, such as those made by the Native Women's Association.
"It's a very serious issue, it's a crime against humanity."
Events honouring missing and murdered indigenous women also took place in Onion Lake, Yorkton, La Ronge and Regina today.