The Daily UbuntuThread 03 · Racialized but Human · September 4, 2026
231 calls, and a candle for each name
In 2019, the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls issued 231 Calls for Justice. Years later, families are still counting what remains to be done.
1 · The scene
End of the day, in front of a church. A teenage girl holds a candle next to a framed photo: a laughing woman, her hair in the wind. Her aunt. She was the age her mother is today.
Passersby slow down. Some hesitate, look at their phones, walk on. A man in work clothes stops, reads the name under the photo, repeats it quietly. He stays there for a minute. The girl will not forget that minute.
Original vignette
2 · The documented case
The final report of the National Inquiry
On June 3, 2019, the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls delivered its final report. It draws on the testimony of more than 2,380 family members, survivors, experts and Knowledge Keepers, from very diverse Nations. It sets out 231 Calls for Justice, addressed to governments, police, the media, social services and the population as a whole. The Inquiry concluded that this violence amounts to genocide, a conclusion that sparked lively public debate.
What has happened since? In June 2023, CBC's tracking counted only two calls fully implemented, and the Assembly of First Nations made a similar observation on the fifth anniversary, in 2024. The federal government disputes this assessment and says it has advanced most of the calls that concern it. Quebec, which is the subject of 21 calls of its own, publishes a follow-up table updated in January 2026.
Every fall, Sisters in Spirit vigils bring together families and allies across Canada. They remind us that behind every Call for Justice there are names, and people who carry them.
3 · The voice
“the racism and misogyny that are woven into the fabric of Canadian society”
4 · The question
What becomes of an "us" when some absences are noticed only by their families?
Sources
- Final report news release (National Inquiry into MMIWG, 2019, French version) www.mmiwg-ffada.ca
- Tracking the Calls for Justice (CBC News, 2023) www.cbc.ca
- Fifth anniversary of the report (CBC News, 2024) www.cbc.ca
- Follow-up to the National Inquiry (Government of Quebec, 2026, in French) www.quebec.ca
Every figure on this page links to a verifiable public source.
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