Carrier Sekani Family Services unveiled Stories of Hope and Strength, a powerful film series amplifying the voices of Indigenous women, girls, and LGBTQ2+ communities last fall at the Prince George Playhouse and now on social media and YouTube.
The project changes the narrative of the ongoing crisis of violence toward Indigenous peoples, sharing personal stories of resilience, healing, empowerment and hope.
The series serves as a call to action and a platform for storytelling in the face of a disproportionately high rate of violence against Indigenous women, girls, and LGBTQ2+ members.
Within the films the focus is lived experiences, cultural strength, and the unbreakable spirit of survivors, families, and future leaders.
One of the films in the Hope & Strength film series features Lorelei Williams, from Skatin and Sts’ailes First Nations, advocate and founder of dance group Butterflies in Spirit. The mission of the group is to raise awareness of violence against Indigenous Women and Girls and the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls across Canada.
Williams embodies ‘you are hope’ through her work to create safe space for healing and connection to occur. Williams has close ties to those murdered and missing women as unfortunately her Aunt Belinda Williams has been missing for decades and her cousin Tanya Holyk’s death has been forever linked to an infamous serial killer.
“A lot of time media will focus on the predator or the serial killer but this film series offers Hope & Strength, like the title says,” Williams said.
“With the work that I do I try to get my missing aunt’s picture out there,” Williams said.
“Everybody knows the serial killer’s name, everybody knows his space, but nobody really knows the faces of our missing and murdered loved ones. So I try to get her beautiful picture out there and with the Hope & Strength series I noticed they didn’t even mention the serial killer’s name and I really love that.”
When Williams went to the premiere of the Hope & Strength short film series in Prince George that was something she noticed right away, she added.
“It was like ‘oh my God, they didn’t even mention his name’ and that was what really stood out to me because it had become so normalized to hear it and every single time I hear his name it’s gut-wrenching for me,” Williams explained. “I always get emotional when I hear her name and his name mentioned in the same sentence. It’s a horrible, horrible thing that happened to my cousin.”
Hearing their names linked together happens so heart-breakingly often, Williams said it’s triggering for her. So to be able to watch the Butterflies in Spirit film as part of the Hope & Strength series without that connection makes it so much more meaningful for her.
“And not hearing his name in the film gave me Hope & Strength in that moment,” Williams said. “The film puts it in a different perspective where they are focusing on the good stuff (healing and connection) and not the bad stuff.”
Kayla Mitchell wrote and directed the Butterflies in Spirit short film.
“Lorelei is wonderful in the way she brings people together and advocates for our people,” Mitchell said. “She is tremendous and I am a mini advocate and I really look up to people like Lorelei who are paving the way with events and supporting the families, stepping out of her comfort zone by doing scary things, so she really inspired me, too.”
Mitchell said she sits on the governing body of the Carrier Sekani Highway of Tears Violence Prevention, Support and Awareness Program with her mom, Krystal Grenkie, who was best friends with Ramona Wilson, a 16-year-old Smithers resident who went missing on the Highway of Tears June 11, 1994. Ramona’s body was found April 9, 1995, in the woods near the Smithers airport.
“I was born in 1995 and my middle name is Ramona after my Auntie and a lot of this work is done in advocacy to support Matilda and Brenda Wilson (mother and sister respectively) in what they do every year during the Ramona Wilson Memorial Walk,” Mitchell said.
“So on the board we were talking about this film series that would be in response to the Calls for Justice and with those calls was a social media campaign to support getting the message out and to show that this is an ongoing issue that is ever present and we are still grieving without answers.”
During one of the board meetings actor/director Matt Smiley was in attendance.
Smiley first came to Northern BC to direct the documentary Highway of Tears that premiered in 2014 at the TIFF Human Rights Watch Film Festival and then was released to the public in early 2015 so he has a strong connection to the Carrier Sekani Family Services organization, Mitchell added.
“Matt was telling us about this social media campaign and what the plan was for the nationwide coverage of inspiring leaders who are carving pathways for us,” Mitchell said.
She’s done a bit of film work behind the scenes and once she had a taste of story making and story telling, Mitchell said she was inspired to let the team at Carrier Sekani Family Services know that she was interested in getting behind the cause.
“I’m great with the camera and I have an eye for it, I love to tell stories and I’m OK with just doing a scary thing and just putting myself out there,” Mitchell said.
“Matt was really interested in what I had to say so he empowered me to dip my toe in and take a look at storytelling as a director and I’ve never taken on that role before – never had that title, and it was a new wave. I’m used to being the one that’s not in the director’s seat so it was a really amazing challenge for myself. I also represent a lot in my community. I am a sister, I am a leader, a council member and I work with our youth a lot as well. I just really wanted to show that this is life-long learning and we are continuously growing and growth happens in uncomfortable places. Putting ourselves out there to do the scary thing helps your growth and wellness. It’s an expression of art and it’s advocacy and decolonial and it’s beautiful. I was mentored into this role so I really have to hold my hands up to Matt Smiley and Carrier Sekani for the work they have done to support me. Even when I doubted myself they really lifted me up.”
To see Butterflies in Spirit visit the Hope & Strength film series at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SN1cJgkjChA&t=1s
