'Just a baby': Vigil mourns 14-year-old Indigenous girl found dead in Vancouver
A vigil was held on Vancouver's Downtown Eastside Tuesday for an Indigenous girl whose body was found there a year after she went missing.
Noelle O'Soup was one of two people whose remains were in a room at a single-room-occupancy building on May 1, Vancouver police have confirmed. The "tragic end" to the search was announced by the department seven weeks later, after the body was identified.
The 14-year-old was a member of the Key First Nation in Saskatchewan. The band says O'Soup was in government care when she went missing in May of 2021.
Vigil organizer Lorelei Williams, who is with the group Butterflies in Spirit, said O'Soup's death is not only a tragedy for those who knew and loved her – it's a painful and stark reminder of an ongoing national crisis.
"Our Indigenous women and girls are in a state of emergency. Our Indigenous women and girls need to be protected. There's a high rate of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls. This should not be happening," she told CTV News.
"She was just a baby," she said of O'Soup.
According to the Assembly of First Natiions, 11 per cent of missing females are Indigenous, despite Indigenous people only making up about 4.3 per cent of the population of Canada. The current data is believed to underrepresent the scale of the issue, the AFN says.
The RCMP said Indigenous women represent 10 per cent of cases in which a woman has been missing for at least 30 days, a statistic based on a 2015 report. Of those women, many were identified as missing "due to 'unknown' circumstances or foul play was suspected."
Shortly after announcing that the search for O'Soup had come to a tragic end, the Vancouver Police Department has said criminality has not been ruled out in this case
"Everything's on the table at this point," spokesperson Const. Tania Visintin said at a news conference last week.
"We're looking into all avenues on what caused this death – or deaths, I should say."
INDIGENOUS LEADERS DEMAND ANSWERS
The fact the teenager’s body remained unidentified for nearly two months is difficult for Key First Nation members to take.
“It’s always very hard and very shocking to lose a young member of our community,” said band councillor Solomon Reece told CTV News last week.
“It’s incredibly important to the family and our community that we have the answers to understand what happened, not only the circumstances of her death, but the circumstances that led to her death.”
Kukpi7 Judy Wilson with the Union of BC Indian Chiefs echoes those comments.
“The band and all of the loved ones deserve those answers, and they deserve the proper access to the information, the proper reporting and to know that if this was foul play or it was an overdose,” said Wilson. “It can’t be downplayed.”
Both Wilson and Reece believe the system failed Noelle O’Soup, like it has many missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.
“Why are these children dying in care? And they’re not being respected, they’re not being held in high regard. All children should be held in high regard, and there shouldn’t be tragedies happening to the children in care,” said Wilson.
Reece is demanding a full investigation and cooperation from all agencies involved.
“But we also need systemic change," he said. “How many more children have to go missing, and how many more do we have to lose before there is significant changes both at federal and provincial levels?”
They fear if those changes don’t happen, more vulnerable girls like Noelle O’Soup will end up dead.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Most of the city is evacuating': Gridlock on Alberta highway after evacuation order in Fort McMurray
Four Fort McMurray neighbourhoods were ordered to evacuate on Tuesday as a wildfire gets closer to the city.
Sask. police seize 1.5M pieces of evidence, lay 60 more charges in child exploitation case
Saskatchewan RCMP have revealed that a historic sexual assault investigation has led to the discovery of alleged crimes against children dating back to 2005.
'Inappropriate' behaviour shuts down Dublin to New York City portal
Less than a week after two public sculptures featuring a livestream between Dublin, Ireland, and New York City debuted, 'inappropriate behaviour' in real-time interactions between people in the two cities has prompted a temporary shutdown.
Oilers starting Calvin Pickard in goal for Game 4 vs. Canucks
The Edmonton Oilers will start Calvin Pickard in net Tuesday for Game 4 of their playoff series with the Vancouver Canucks.
Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker rails against Pride month, working women in commencement speech
Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker railed against Pride month, working women, President Biden's leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic and abortion during a commencement address at Benedictine College last weekend.
King Charles III unveils his first official portrait since his coronation
King Charles III has unveiled the first portrait of the monarch completed since he assumed the throne, a vivid image that depicts him in the bright red uniform of the Welsh Guards against a background of similar hues.
Full List Are these Canada's best restaurants? Annual top 100 list revealed
The annual list of Canada's top restaurants in the country was just released and here are the places that made the 2024 cut.
Alberta announces the 4 health agencies that will replace AHS later this year
The province has released more information on its plan to break up Alberta Health Services and replace it with four sector-based health agencies.
Biden administration moving ahead on US$1 billion arms package for Israel, AP sources say
The Biden administration has told key lawmakers it is sending a new package of more than US$1 billion in arms and ammunition to Israel, two congressional aides said Tuesday.