Chilliwack (with files from Chilliwack Mural Festival) – Inez Point is a celebrated musician from Chilliwack and her music is known country wide.
On Tuesday May 5, it was discovered by members of the Chilliwack Mural Festival, that the portrait of Inez was vandalized.
It’s not just the physical damage. The timing was not lost on fans and festival organizers alike.
From the Mural Festival Facebook: One of our most beloved murals was damaged, bucket(s) of paint thrown over the portrait of Inez, a Stó:lō woman who has given so much to this community. She is a mother, a sister, a daughter, a cousin, an auntie. She is loved.
This mural is more than a portrait or mural to look at. It is a representation of Stó:lō and Indigenous women in our community. The act of vandalizing it was not just damage to paint on a wall, it is a hurtful statement directed at Indigenous women. We do not take that lightly, and we don’t want it to pass without being named.
We’re sharing this today, on the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, because context matters. We don’t know the full story behind the damage, sometimes it comes from anger, sometimes from a desire to be heard, to make a political statement. We hold space for that, even as we grieve what was lost.
Chief Darcy Paul of Skowkale shares that “when incidents like this happen, we come together. We put our strengths together, we support those who are affected and vulnerable, and we come out together and stronger.”
The mural will be repaired. We’re fundraising to bring the artist, Kevin Ledo from Montreal, back to Chilliwack to restore the work, and we’re asking for your help to make that happen.
If you’re able to donate, please visit www.gofundme.com/f/kevinledomural
If you have Aeroplan or other flight points you’d like to contribute toward the artist’s travel, please reach out directly.
This work matters. Inez matters. Indigenous women matter. Thank you for standing with us.
