For many Indigenous cultures, the hummingbird symbolizes joy, beauty and a resilient spirit.
Students at Abbotsford's William A. Fraser Middle School hope that the spirit of that beautiful, but fragile creature lives on through a recently launched community art project.
Vice-principal Nerlap Sidhu's Grade 8 classes and Fraser Equity League students invited the guests to the school on May 5 and 6 to participate in an event to raise awareness about the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
W.A Fraser Middle School students lead the audience in the women’s warrior song ahead of the school’s MMIWG awareness community project @AbbotsfordSD pic.x.com/yMWIrebhUS
— Ben Lypka (@BenLypka) May 6, 2025
According to statistics from the Assembly of First Nations, Indigenous women make up 16 per cent of all female homicide victims, and 11 per cent of missing women, yet Indigenous people make up only 4.3 per cent of the population of Canada. They are also twice as likely to experience violence from a partner and more likely to experience physical and sexual assault than non-Indigenous women.
Attendees heard words from students and local Indigenous people on the meaning of the project and then gathered in classrooms to paint an Indigenous hummingbird on a carved piece of wood. These art pieces will later be displayed prominently on a fence near the school's entrance.
Sidhu said Equity League students, who are made up of Grade 6, 7 and 8's, suggested highlighting the MMIWG crisis.
"We all spoke about what types of projects or ways can we give back to the community and this was the one that resonated the most with the kids," Sidhu said. "I think it was mainly about the violence against women and girls and it was something many hadn't heard about before."
Sidhu said one student told her that after she shared details of the project with her parents, the student's parents said it was a topic they themselves never really learned about in school.
Uma, a Grade 8 student shared that reaction was what she received from her family.
“When I told my family I was learning about and presenting on the important topic of MMIWG they had not heard of it before," she said. "My dad shared that he had not even learned about it in school when he was younger. He was very happy that W. A. Fraser Middle School staff are spending time teaching kids about MMIWG so that we can make sure this doesn’t happen again. I told my dad that all middle schools should have awareness projects like this one as it gave us a voice as students to bring change and open the hearts of adults as well as my classmates to make the world an even better place.”
Sidhu said the project encouraged students to learn and motivated them to spread the word.
"We do have Indigenous students and those with Indigenous heritage in this particular class and I think as a class they really wrapped around the idea of resilience, empathy and courage – those were the themes of this project," she said. "And they really wanted to make sure they used their voices to awaken others like community members, family and other students with this project."
Fraser prinicipal Ian Levings said it was great to see his school's event closely linked with Red Dress Day (May 5), which was also acknowledged by the City of Abbotsford. He said these types of projects create a better understanding.
"It was such an opportunity to teach students the truth in Truth and Reconciliation," he said, noting that he was moved by the words from Sumas First Nation councillor Troy Ganzeveld who shared a story of his personal connection to the MMIWG crisis.
Event attendees will be invited back in June to finish off the art pieces with staining and then they will be installed on the fence. They will remain on the fence for the next few years.
"We know that the next generation of students that go through Fraser Middle School will come in and say 'what are those things on the fence post about?' and that will create more conversation in our community," Levings said.
Sidhu thanked Abbotsford School District Indigenous Support Worker Courtney Graham for her help making the event success, but pointed to the efforts of the students as the biggest difference maker.
"When you engage with your community as a school it helps students and youth succeed in middle school and beyond," she said. "The most important goal for this project was to raise awareness around this crisis because a lot of people aren't even aware it exists. During the presentation, Ella – one of our students – said this is a day to share awareness and address the ongoing crisis and said let this be a call to action to address this issue of violence and discrimination and ensure it's not part of our future – it gave me goosebumps when she said that."
She added that the Equity League has several more projects in the coming months and hopes to share more with the community about how they can encourage students and get involved. Sidhu also thanked Tim Hortons, Save on Foods, Starbucks and Home Depot for their donations and support for the event.
