Community members are gathering downtown this afternoon to honour the lives of of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQIA+ people.

The No More Stolen Sisters March begins at Diana Krall Plaza at 3:30.

Starting in 1992 memorial marches have been held in communities across the country each year on February 14th.

The event originated as a memorial march for Cheryl Anne Joe, a mother of three from Sechelt who was murdered that year in Vancouver.

Leah Vaisanen is organizing the march in Nanaimo.

Monique May is organizing a march this Sunday in Victoria. She’ll also be in attendance Friday in Nanaimo.

Both of them spoke with Midcoast Morning about the march, and the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQIA+ people.