The fight is not over for the family of Chantel Moore, the Port Alberni woman who was killed by police in Edmundston, NB earlier this month.
"It's been quite devastating. She was a well loved, well respected young woman with a full life ahead of her. For this life to be so brutually taken, senselessly taken, there are no words, except that this isn't okay," says Moore's aunt, Laura Manson. "This has been horrific, I just, I have no words really, except for fear and anger and heartache. It's just not fair."
26 year old Moore was shot after police were called to her home to provide a wellness check on June 4th.
Manson says they will continue to work to shed light on systemic racism in Canada.
"I know from speaking with her mother, Martha, that she intends on continuing to seek justice for her daughter's life. Honestly, I don't see an end to this because this has been a lifelong struggle for all Indigenous folk across the country."
"As an Indigenous woman, who looks the part, going into grocery stores I keep my hands behind my back to not be suspected of theft. I keep my purse behind my back so they don't think I'm stuffing things in my purse. If I have to reach for my cell phone, I make sure to do it in front of a staff member so they don't think I'm stealing. There's so much to it as an Indigenous woman."
Manson says she thinks if this were to have happened at any other time, her neice's death wouldn't have caught the attention that it has right now.
"Minus the pandemic, minus the actions that have been taken all over the country in regards to George Floyd and that senseless murder as well, I think that Chantel's case would have more or less just been a blip on the radar. The pandemic is forcing people to sit with this uncomfortable, awkward thing for people who aren't aware of Indigenous issues in Canada and across Turtle Island."
The demonstration will begin at 7:00 pm on Thursday at the Legislature, attendees are asked to wear yellow in honour of Chantel's favourite saying, 'stay golden.'
Manson asks that anyone coming to the event wear a mask and practice social distancing.