Main fundraiser photo

Highway of Tears Sister Totem Poles

The Highway of Tears Commemoration and Healing Totem Pole series is a project initiated by families of the many women and girls missing and murdered along the remote stretch of Highway 16 in northwest British Columbia.

After several years of organizing and fundraising, a beautiful twenty-two-foot Grandmother Pole was raised on Kitsumkalum Tsimshian Territory near Terrace, BC in September 2020.

A ten-foot Brother Pole is currently underway to represent, acknowledge, and memorialize all the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Men and Boys (MMIMB) and survivors of residential schools. Funding for this pole has already been received and it will eventually be raised by the Smithers Friendship Centre, BC.

Families and communities are now seeking support to build two ten-foot Sister Poles that will stand at each end of the Highway of Tears, one in Prince George and one in Prince Rupert, BC.

The cost of each Sister Pole is $34,000, which covers materials, master carving, and an honorarium for a safe support person for families of MMIWG/ MMIMB/ 2SLGBTQ+. We are looking to fundraise for the first pole by May 2021. 

These poles are a way to commemorate those taken from the highway, to honour the families who have worked so hard over the decades for awareness, change and to keep their loved ones’ memory alive, and to provide a sacred space to come together and heal.

We gratefully accept any donations to support this important project.

To learn more about this project and see footage from the Grandmother Pole raising in September, click on this link: https://www.aptnnews.ca/national-news/memorial-pole-raised-on-highway-of-tears-in-b-c-for-families/

Donations 

  • Mandy Cardinal
    • $146 
    • 3 yrs
  • Emily Hemmings
    • $15 
    • 3 yrs
  • Amber Zanon
    • $20 
    • 3 yrs
  • Roberta Tevlin
    • $100 
    • 3 yrs
  • Elinor Warkentin
    • $35 
    • 3 yrs

Organizer

Lindsay Potts
Organizer
Toronto, ON

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