Typically held in Victoria, B.C., it was the first time the Moose Hide Campaign Day was held virtually.
More than 80,000 people from across the country registered for the online event held Feb. 11 to end violence against women and children.
The day marked ten years since the Moose Hide Campaign has grown from a grassroots to a nation-wide movement after being co-founded by Paul Lacerte with his daughter Raven following a 2011 hunting trip in their traditional territory near the Highway of Tears.
“This is a journey of reconciliation,” said Moose Hide Campaign CEO, David Stevenson.
“We have come a long way, and we have a long way to go and our work is not done, so we look forward to continuing our work with you.”
Since the journey began, Stevenson said one of their key champions and supporters has been the B.C. Government.
Read More: Pandemic exacerbating issues at core of Moose Hide Campaign to end violence
Premier John Horgan provided some sad statistics.
“By the age of 16, over half the women in our province will have experienced physical or sexual violence,” Horgan said.
“For Indigenous women and girls, the numbers are even higher.”
According to Horgan, the Moose Hide Campaign is more important than ever as the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the danger and isolation many women face.
“Our movement is strong, and it is growing,” said Raven Lacerte, a Lake Babine Nation member.
“Over the last ten years, we have distributed over two-million squares of moose hide across Canada.”
Lacerte said those two-million squares have started more than 10-million conversations about ending violence against women and children, resulting in projects taking place in over 2,000 communities across the country.
One of those projects includes the ‘10 Men Challenge’ at Fraser Lake Elementary-Secondary, where ten young men fast for a day each year in which a community assembly is held at the school.
“The Moose Hide Campaign is an army of love warriors on a mission of loving ourselves and each other,” said Paul Lacerte.
“Of healing our pain so we can live a life of joy and opportunity.”
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