User:EmmaAndrist/Butterflies in Spirit

Butterflies in Spirit
Butterflies in Spirit is a women and girls dance group, based out of Vancouver, BC, Canada, whose aim is to raise awareness for missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls (MMIWG). Their performances are politically charged, taking over public places, occupying space and forcing recognition of the ongoing violence against MMIWG.

This political movement is made up of members who have been impacted in some way, by systemic violence targeted towards Indigenous women and girls. Members perform dance routines and flash mobs wearing shirts with pictures of MMIWG on them as a means to honour their spirits while giving a face to those who have been lost.

Founder
Founded by Lorelei Williams, a Coast Salish woman from Sts’ailes and Interior Salish, who has been affected by the impacts of violence against Indigenous women. Williams’ aunt Belinda Williams went missing in 1978 but was not registered as a missing person until 2004, her cousin was also a missing person whose DNA was found on Robert Pickton’s farm. Williams’ frustration over the lack of resources in place to help locate her family members inspired her to create the dance group Butterflies in Spirit, in part to heal together but mostly to create awareness for MMIWG.

The name Butterflies in Spirit corresponds with Williams' view of transformation. She draws a link between women who are facing challenges to butterflies; coming out of a chrysalis is a way to highlight their transformation. According to Williams their transformation ascends the physical world into the spiritual. The feminist anthem"Run the World (Girls)" by Beyonce inspired Butterflies in Spirit's first flash mob performance, using the lyrics as a means to project their feminist message.

International Impact
To date, they have performed throughout North America and parts of South America. Butterflies in Spirit has performed at a Women’s Peace Conference in Bogotá, Colombia and various locations across Canada as well as Montana. The group has plans to travel internationally in the future as they continue to raise funds (through online resources and live events) to such places Austria and Australia. Williams’ goal is to spread their message internationally, highlighting that a call to action is necessary in regards to the continued violence against Indigenous women and girls in Canada.