Circle of Hope Mawio'mi

The 4^th of October is the national day of the initiative Sisters in Spirit which is a movement, lead by Indigenous women, in order to advocate social change. It was founded to honour and remember the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. However, the 4th of October day is also to recognize the murdered Indigenous men and boys (read also: Red Dresses & Ties, Doc & Talk).

In October 2017, it was the 8th Mawio'mi gathering in Nova Scotia organized by the Mi'kmaq, the First Nations in the Atlantic Provinces, and it took place on their unsurrendered territory, a place where Acadia University was build on. This vigil was established to discuss and criticize the ongoing violence against Indigenous peoples in Canada, in form of discrimination, prejudices and dispossession from ancestral territories. The history of Residential Schools, injustice and violent felony are only few outstanding examples of it. 

The Mawio'mi gathering gave room and space to talk about those topics, and to search for possible solutions. Moreover, many diverse events were organized in terms of coming together, spending time while listening to each other, and feeling the strength and power of being part of this movement. One important aim was (and still is) to find ways how Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples can reconcile and to figure out which changes are needed for a just and peaceful society in North America, and everywhere else.