Memory walk flag raised

The Full Moon Memory Walk flag was raised to half mast at Thunder Bay City Hall on Sept. 28 to honour the lives of Aboriginal women who have gone missing or been murdered.
“I’m honoured that this is happening because that means the City of Thunder Bay is acknowledging that there is a problem with missing and murdered women,” said Gladys Radek, who co-founded Walk4Justice in 2008 to raise awareness about the plight of missing and murdered women across Canada. “This is a great honour that they are doing this on behalf of the women who are missing (and murdered), especially for the families.”
“We have to acknowledge that somebody took that person’s life and we have to feel in our hearts that justice has been done or you never ever get closure when that happened.”
- Jackie Fletcher
Radek feels the flag raising is a “fabulous first step” to acknowledge missing and murdered women.
“I have several relatives that have gone missing or murdered over the last four decades,” Radek said. “Most recently there were several on the Highway of Tears. My niece Tamara Lynn Chipman was disappeared out of Prince Rupert, B.C., Sept. 21, 2005, and she is still missing.”
Full Moon Memory Walk organizer Sharon Johnson said her sister Sandra’s murder has still not been solved after 20 years.
“Her body was found on the Neebing-McIntyre River floodway in the east side of town here,” Johnson said. “We do have a memorial walk every year at the full moon in September. The walk has grown each year.”
The 8th Annual Full Moon Memory Walk, first organized in 2005, was held on Sept. 29 and the Full Moon Memory Walk flag was raised to full mast at City Hall on Oct. 1 to be flown for seven days.
“I just feel very good about what we are doing,” Johnson said. “It’s still a very touchy thing because of my sister’s unsolved case. It would have been her birthday on Wednesday, the 26th.”
Johnson has not heard of any new leads or changes in her sister’s case for a long time, but she feels the flag raising would raise more awareness about the issue in the area.
“And we’re going to Ottawa the day after the memorial walk for a (Families of Sisters in Spirit Oct. 4) vigil on Parliament Hill,” Johnson said.
Nishnawbe Aski Nation Women’s Council member Jackie Fletcher called for more say when First Nations people go missing or are murdered.
“I have a cousin who was shot to death,” Fletcher said. “I don’t care how it happened — we have to acknowledge that somebody took that person’s life and we have to feel in our hearts that justice has been done or you never ever get closure when that happened.”
Johnson’s sister Marcella hopes the flag raising would send out a message to young people.
“Especially the young girls,” Marcella said. “That they learn to value themselves and not to think that this is the way it goes for all women.”