International Women's Day, March 8, 2021

By City of Vancouver

• Celebrating International Women’s Day in Vancouver

  By City of Vancouver

  “Until all of us have made it, none of us have made it.” - Rosemary Brown March 8 is International Women’s Day, a global celebration of gender equity and those who seek to improve the lives of women and girls, Two Spirit, trans, non-binary and gender diverse peoples through cultural, legal, economic, and social change. This year, we honour the contributions of our local change makers, from Vancouver’s past and present, whose courage and commitment to gender equity are an inspiration for our future.

• Ch’ich’iyúy Elxwikn (The Twin Sisters)

  By City of Vancouver

  Since Time Immemorial - What settlers and newcomers may know as “The Lions” are known to the Host Nations as Ch’ich’iyúy Elxwikn - “The Twin Sisters” – reminders of the values and kindness of Indigenous women. We recognize the brilliance of the women who call this place home didn’t begin with Vancouver’s incorporation in 1886, nor did equality first arrive when women won the right to vote or were first elected to City Council. Before settlers arrived, there was equality here. Indigenous women were leaders, land-owners, and matriarchs. Since time immemorial, the women and Two Spirit people of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations have built their communities, raised their children and grandchildren, and told their own stories on this land.

• Sophie

  By City of Vancouver

  This painting, Sophie with Berry Basket, Stanley Park by Margaret Wake is from the collection at the Museum of Vancouver. Sophie is seated wearing a berry basket with a woven tumpline. The basket features a stone hammer design which is associated with the Mount Currie and Upper Squamish areas. Based on this, it is possible Sophie was from the Squamish Nation. This painting is loaded with symbolism. Sophie is pictured in Stanley Park, the site of a village inhabited by Indigenous peoples for thousands of years before settlers arrived. The limited information we have access to about Sophie speaks to the collective erasure of Indigenous women in the canon of women’s rights. Our ability to determine that Sophie may have been from the Squamish Nation is based on the basket design, the weaving of which would have been done by a woman, speaks to the role of Indigenous women – and all women – in our connection to our communities.

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