Watching a national roundtable from afar, one person close to the issue of missing and murdered indigenous women can't help but think about her time struggling with abuse and addictions on the streets of Winnipeg.
"Those are scars of pain and the grief," said Rachel Willan, pointing to scars on her left forearm.
It’s experiences like her own that Willan says delegates at the roundtable in Ottawa needed to hear and acknowledge first, as they tried to come up with solutions to end the growing number of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls.
"You take 1,200 women, and you take each mother and father of that family and sibling you add those people up, that's a whole nation in itself just destroyed," said Willan.
Many who were in Ottawa, but not invited in to the meeting, agree. They expressed concerns outside the room where the roundtable was being held.
Inside, delegates heard from leaders of provincial and federal government; along with some advocates, families and friends of missing and murdered indigenous women.
Much of the discussion was about identifying resources needed on the ground to help vulnerable women, and who should pay for them.
But talks also turned to calls for a national inquiry.
"I think they need to have a community-led, community-based national inquiry that works from bottom up and not top down. We know the best solutions come from community," said Leah Gazan. president of the Winnipeg Social Planning Council.
While no commitment for an inquiry was made at the meeting, delegates did agree to meet again in one year to discuss further ways to end the problem.
Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger committed to host the next roundtable in 2016.
Delegates at the roundtable were also presented with summaries of about 50 reports done on the issue, and the up to 700 recommendations that have never been implemented.
