Northerners come together to honour victims of Vancouver Lapu Lapu Day festival attack

Hundreds of people gathered in Whitehorse and Yellowknife on Friday to show solidarity with the victims of last week's attack at a Filipino cultural festival in Vancouver.

On April 26, a man drove through a crowd of people at the city's Lapu Lapu Day Block Party, killing 11 people and injuring more than 20 others.

The festival was a joyful event honouring Datu Lapu Lapu, an Indigenous Filipino freedom fighter who resisted Spanish and Portuguese colonization in the Philippines in the 16th century. 

Since the attack, communities across Canada have organized vigils and donations for the victims of the tragedy. Friday was also designated a provincial day of mourning in British Columbia.

Yellowknife vigil

The Yellowknife vigil was organized by the Philippines Cultural Association of Yellowknife (PCAY) and held at Somba K'e Civic Plaza outside of Yellowknife city hall. The event was called Luksang Bayan, meaning Community of mourning. 

PCAY president Narlie Dapilos began the ceremony by speaking to the Filipino values of Kapwa — solidarity with others — and Bayanihan — coming together — that he saw embodied in the crowd of well over a hundred people, of all demographics.

"The significance of this vigil is to show that support, show that Kapwa, that Bayanihan spirit, that we are there for them. Even though we are not there physically, we are there for those who are affected by the tragedy," Dapilos told the crowd.

Those remarks were followed by a prayer from Father Brando, a priest who travelled to the event from Norman Wells, N.W.T., a town about 685 kilometres northwest of Yellowknife. The crowd then took 11 minutes of silence to remember each of the victims who died in the attack.

Before the event, Dapilos told CBC News that one of the organization's goals was to provide a communal space for members of Yellowknife's Filipino community to heal from the tragedy.

"There's strength in community, there's strength in solidarity," he said. "No one has to go through things alone."

Cheiyenne Fontanilla, who volunteered to make signs for the event, said it was good to see so many people come together in a time of such sadness.

"This Indigenous Filipino concept of Kapua, this shared sense of community, of self, of kindred, it just reflects what Yellowknife, as a community, is as a whole," Fontanilla said.

Whitehorse vigil

The Whitehorse vigil took place at the Healing Pole on Front Street in the city's downtown. The Dechinta Centre for Research and Learning, the Community Cache and the Canadian Filipino Association Yukon (CFAY) organized the event. 

Leaders from various community groups spoke in solidarity with the Filipino community at the gathering.

Lianne Charlie, an organizer who is also a faculty member with the Dechinta Centre for Research and Learning, hoped the gathering would be an opportunity for different communities to learn from each other and heal together.

"As a Northern Tutchone woman, I know that, for our people, we have ethics of caring and sharing. These ethics are embedded in other people's cultures as well," Charlie said. "I really like the idea of us learning that about each other."

Community leaders at the gathering spoke of the support the Yukon Filipino community has shown to others. 

During the gathering, Saba Javed, a member of the Yukon Muslim Society, recalled how the Filipino community immediately welcomed her family — one of the only Pakistani families around.

"We have to return that embrace," Javed said.

James Antopina, speaking on behalf of the Canadian Filipino Association Yukon during the event, said the support from other communities this past week has meant a lot to him.

"As a member of the Filipino community, I can see now how I felt that we are not alone as a minority community," he said.

Antopina named the gathering 'I belong to community.' He hopes that message will resonate with each person who attended the gathering.

"I wanted the message to be personal," he said.

"Whatever happens, or you might be undergoing some problems right now, personally or [with] community or family, the message will say, 'You belong. We are here,'" he said.