First Light, in partnership with the St. John’s Status of Women Council (SJSWC), is hosting the annual Sisters in Spirit Vigil today at the First Light Centre for Performance and Creativity in St. John’s.

The vigil will begin at 6:00 PM, with doors opening at 5:00 PM.

For those unable to attend in person, the event will be livestreamed on First Light’s Facebook page. While registration for in-person attendance is now closed, additional seating has been reserved for families and friends impacted by gender-based violence. This vigil offers a solemn space for families and communities to honour their loved ones and foster healing.

The Sisters in Spirit Vigil is a nationally recognized event, held annually on Oct. 4, to honour missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and gender-diverse people (MMIWG2S+). This year’s event comes less than two weeks after the release of the first annual Reconciliation Report, which highlighted holistic approaches to ending gender-based violence. The report calls for priority efforts to redevelop the K-12 curriculum and strengthen civilian-led police oversight to address root causes of MMIWG2S+.