FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 8, 2022
The Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw Chiefs (Assembly) has been concerned for the whereabouts and well-being missing of 24-year-old Eskasoni First Nation community member, Marley Alicia Morris, last seen on February 18 in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.
As concerns of the Assembly, along with community members, continue to grow we all hope that media and police will remain vigilant in their attention to her disappearance.
“We must keep up the momentum in the search for Marley,” said Chief Annie Bernard-Daisley, Lead Mi’kmaw Women Portfolio for the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw Chiefs. “Efforts to find missing Indigenous women and girls can sometimes lose profile and attention as time passes, and we want to ensure that does not happen in Marley’s case and potentially place her at further risk.”
The 2019 Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls dedicated a chapter to highlighting unfair depictions of Indigenous women in media and a lack of media coverage when Indigenous women are missing or victims of violence. Call to Justice 9.5 calls upon police services to standardize protocols for policies and practices to ensure all cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women are thoroughly investigated.
“Often when media coverage on missing Indigenous women is scarce, and adequate resources are not put into place by policy to find and protect our women, it sends a message that their welfare and safety is not serious or critical. Thousands of Indigenous women across Canada have never been found or have died as a result of delayed police response and media coverage of their disappearances. We appreciate what everyone has done so far to do to help find Marley and we want to see that continue,” continued Chief Bernard-Daisley.
Anyone with information on Marley’s whereabouts is asked to contact police at 902-490-5020. Anonymous tips can be sent to Crime Stoppers by calling toll-free 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), submitting a secure web tip at www.crimestoppers.ns.ca or by using the P3 Tips app.