For Erin Konsmo, it’s still an emotional sight.
Draped across the spacious floor of Elks Hall, Walking With Our Sisters is an art installation like no other.
Atop a bright red fabric, hundreds of pairs of neatly arranged beaded moccasin tops – known as vamps – embody a national tragedy.
These are the footsteps of those who can no longer speak for themselves. They are the symbolic tracks of Canada’s missing and murdered Indigenous women.
“It’s overwhelming to be around that representation of those lives that are unfinished,” says Konsmo, spokesperson for the national group that oversees the exhibit.
That is certain to be a common reaction after Walking With Our Sisters opened a 13-day exhibition at Elks Hall on Monday morning.
Visitors to WWOS remove their footwear and accept traditional tobacco as they walk through the rather haunting exposition.
Konsmo, a Métis woman from Edmonton, said visitors are invited to send prayers for the safe return of women still missing and for the healing of loved ones left behind.
“The installation itself is really meant to provide a space for people to come and honour and remember our missing and murdered Indigenous women,” says Konsmo, “and to also provide a space for healing and ceremony.”
Some of the first visitors to Elks Hall on Monday were relatives of missing or murdered Aboriginal women, still trying to make sense of their loved ones’ absence.
“There’s a rush of a different variety of emotions and reactions,” says Konsmo, “and I think this space allows for that as well, for there to be grief and sorrow.”
Lot to take in
Mike Spencer, one of the lead organizers in bringing WWOS to Flin Flon, said the installation offers a lot to take in.
“It’s a very powerful exhibition,” he said.
Spencer and a team of volunteers spent three days last week setting up WWOS, a meticulous process considering the installation involves more than 1,725 pairs of vamps.
Concerned people from around the world crafted the vamps, representing the sisters, mothers, daughters, cousins, grandmothers, aunts, nieces, partners, and friends who are gone but not forgotten.
A group of Flin Flon area crafters, working out of the Friendship Centre, were among those who answered the sombre call for vamps.
WWOS is the brainchild of Christi Belcourt, a Métis visual artist and author. She originally requested supporters of the project provide 600-plus vamps, a goal that was far exceeded.
WWOS is now scheduled to tour more than 30 locations across North America over the next six years, shedding further attention on the plight of missing and murdered Indigenous women.
Spencer, an artist who manages the NorVA Centre, did not know a lot about Indigenous culture or traditions when he got involved with WWOS.
“So from my perspective, it was just an interesting and exciting opportunity to bring this huge artwork to our town,” he said, “...and through the process, I’ve learned a lot.”
According to the most recent data, nearly 1,200 Indigenous women and girls have gone missing or been murdered in Canada in the past 30 years – and the actual number is believed to be much higher than the official one.
Last year, Canada’s premiers backed a call for a national public inquiry into the issue, but the idea has so far been rejected.
Admission to WWOS is free, but donations are accepted at the door to help cover the cost of bringing the exhibit to the community.
WWOS will be at Elks Hall until July 5.
