A PAGC Senator lights 26 candles to represent the 26 missing Indigenous women and girls in Saskatchewan at this moment. Photo by Chelsea Laskowski
Police in Prince Albert used the Sisters in Spirit Vigil to remind people that they want to reduce the number of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.
These annual vigils on Oct. 4 are part of a national movement, led by the Native Women’s Association of Canada, meant to recognize the national tragedy of the sheer number of missing Indigenous females.
The Tuesday event was hastily arranged by the Prince Albert Grand Council, in an effort to honour those who have disappeared and to press for action nationally.
In PAGC’s main office on Tuesday, 26 candles were lit. Each candle represents one missing Indigenous woman or girl in the province right now, according to police statistics.
Inspector Jon Bergen said Prince Albert Police want to reduce the number of candles that are there, saying even one is too many.
For the past year, Prince Albert Police Sergeant Ryan Levesque has worked on a daily basis to help families find answers in cold cases.
First, he looks through the existing files to see if a new perspective can give new leads. He also explores whether new techniques can give new legs to old evidence.
When it comes to contacting families, Levesque said it can be difficult for them to revisit the loss of a loved one.
“In my experience, it’s a wound that never heals so it’s not easy for either party to start talking about again. But until we do talk and try to come up with a plan together as to where we’re going to go next, then assumptions happen that we aren’t doing anything on file – which nothing can be further from the truth,” he said.
He said his relationships with those people are important, and require empathy.
“The way I look at it, is, if that were my son that was missing, how would I want to be treated? How would I want the investigation to be treated? So that’s what motivates me to keep in mind when I’m looking at this file, that this is a person there and they have a family,” he said.
“It’s not just a person on a paper, this is somebody’s daughter or son and they want answers. So that’s what drives me.”
Levesque added, the best thing the public can do is to come forward with any detail they know in missing person’s cases, even if they think it’s small or already known. Nothing can be assumed.
Oftentimes, it’s those small details that lead to bigger revelations, he said.