Advocacy group Warrior Women for Justice and singer Josiah Hugs convene the vigil Friday morning with a smudging ceremony on the Yellowstone County Courthouse lawn.
Nicci Wagy with Warrior Women for Justice is Apsáalooke and Omaha and says this gathering is an opportunity for community members to honor their loved ones in solidarity.
"To not only remember the stolen, but to bring awareness, seek advocacy, seek justice and accountability and to speak for those who have been silenced,” said Wagy.
According to the Montana Department of Justice in 2020, Indigenous people make up less than a tenth of the state’s population, but roughly 25 percent of all missing persons.
“Today, it does not matter if you call upon the Lord to hear your prayers or if you turn to all Four Directions while burning sacred herbs to lift your pleas,” said Wagy. "What matters today is standing together as one to roll away the stone that’s blocking the government and media and our own families and communities from acting. We stand together to give life to hope.”
After speeches and reading a list of the missing and murdered, attendees share a meal, stories and healing crafts like painting and weaving.
Wagy says Warrior Women for Justice will debut a series of recordings from the event to highlight some of those stories.
