Photo description:

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Annie Bowkett a Inuit women originally from Nunavut, lights the qulliq at the start of press conference with Maryam Monsef, Minister for Women and Gender Equality and member of Parliament for Winnipeg South, Robert-Falcon Ouellette (Terry Duguid, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Women and Gender Equality was also in attendance), at the press conference for a government announcement regarding the Commemoration Fund for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls at the Forks Monday. More info on the Qullq: The Qulliq (Inuit Lamp) is incorporated into the Truth-Gathering Process. It symbolizes Inuit women’s strength, care, and love. The Qulliq represent the light and warmth provided at the hearth. The lamp is made for a woman as a gift from her husband. Then, as the owner, she becomes the flame keeper. See story. June 24, 2019