Palexelsiya Lorelei Williams in Indigenous dress.
Palexelsiya Lorelei Williams at the Cannes Film Festival. Credit: Palexelsiya Lorelei Williams Credit: Palexelsiya Lorelei Williams

Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people are 12 times as likely to be murdered or go missing than non-Indigenous women and girls. 

A national inquiry published this statistic in 2019. But as headlines come and go, Activist Palexelsiya Lorelei Williams, member of Skatin Nation and Sts’Ailes First Nations, is working to ensure that murdered and missing Indigenous women, girls, and two-spirit people (MMIWG2S) are not forgotten.

Butterflies in Spirit

Williams created the dance group Butterflies in Spirit in 2011 to raise awareness for MMIWG2S. 

That year, Williams had been at a rally for the National Day of Action for MMIWG2S on October 4, when she  noticed people on the other side of the road trying to figure out what the rally was for. 

“So that’s when this idea came to me about wanting to honor my cousin, Tanya Holick, who was murdered by [Robert] Pickton, but also to somehow get my missing aunt’s picture out there because it was never really out there,” Williams said.

Williams was not a dancer at the time, but she thought that dance could raise awareness for her cause. She found other Indigenous women, girls, and two-spirit people who were family members of MMIWG2S, and the group put on their first performance in Vancouver on April 30, 2012. The performance involved shutting down a major intersection., 

“[It] was actually supposed to be a one-time thing,” she said. “However, we’re still performing to this day, which is over 11 years later.” 

Expanding the range of her voice

Last year, Williams received her Indigenous name, Palexelsiya, from family members in a spontaneous ceremony in front of Vatican City. She noted the location’s significance. 

“These are the people, like from Vatican City, from the Pope, you know, the colonizers all over there. They were the ones who came to our lands, raided our lands, and murdered our people and tried to take our cultures away, our language and everything. And here we are practicing it right in front of Vatican City with our laws too.”

Williams’ efforts have grown her sphere of influence in ways that continue to surprise her. 

“Getting invited to Mexico to search for the disappeared, all these things that people just reach out for. I’ve gained so much experience from going on these trips that I’m able to network as well and make those connections,” she said. 

In May, Williams presented the Healing Journey Through Dance art installation at the first Cannes Indigenous Arts and Fashion Festival. She has also taken on modeling. 

“I’m always willing to raise awareness of this issue any way that I can. Art captures people’s attention. You can capture a different audience and you can send a message in a different way,” Williams said.

Representation and leadership falls short

“You have the politicians that are all for it – they’re supporting us, they’re at our meetings – the ones who care actually really care. And then you have the ones who don’t care. I’ve heard horrible comments from politicians along the way,” said Williams. 

Demographics of politicians also seriously lack Indigenous women and two-spirited people. There are exceptions, Williams notes, like Judy Wilson-Raybould and Melanie Mark, but it’s not nearly enough.   “Back in the day, our Indigenous women were the matriarchs, the leaders, and we don’t have that now. The government did a really good job at making sure that that was taken away,” she explained.

The consequences,, says Williams, are serious. 

“Racist policies are still set in place, and that is one of the many reasons why our Indigenous women and girls are still going missing and being murdered at a high rate. We’ve had quite a few inquiries, there’s been so many recommendations and it’s really hard to implement them. And even if some of them are implemented, it’s just a tick off of the checkbox, you know?”

Taking care of herself

It’s crucial for Williams to care for herself in her line of work.

Her training in Indigenous Focusing-Oriented Therapy and complex trauma has been valuable, she notes – both “to be able to work with my own traumas growing up as an Indigenous girl and woman,” and “to be able to protect myself in the work that I do because I’m always in trauma and with people in trauma.”

She described that she practices self-care by getting braids done, having comfort food, and talking to elders. Williams also participates in ceremonies such as smudging and cedar brushing at events. “I do have a group of people that I can count on my fingers that I can call if I need to,” she said.

Calls to action

What must non-Indigenous people do? Williams says it is up to them to educate themselves on Indigenous peoples and their histories. She points out that people can find great books on these topics written by Indigenous women.

“People do ask me to speak, which is great, but it takes a lot of energy out of me,” said Williams.

The CBC recently reported that out of the 231 calls for justice from the national MMIWG inquiry, only two directives have been completed this past year. 

READ MORE: Calls to action for truth and reconciliation decades from completion

The ongoing crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and two-spirited people is not just a problem for Indigenous people.Everyone who resides on the land in this country is responsible for addressing it. 

“They need to stop being racist. They need to help us change these policies and laws because that’s what’s killing us right now to this day,” said Williams.

Abiola Regan

Abiola Regan is a freelance writer and poet with an academic background in psychology and a passion for pop culture. Her articles have appeared in publications such as Herizons Magazine, CBC Life, Salon...