Sister of homicide victim wants new resources to help Indigenous women

The sister of a homicide victim is calling for more resources to help Indigenous women, trans individuals, and two-spirited people.

Meggie Cywink spoke with CTV News on Wednesday, the National Day of Action from Missing and Murdered Indigenous Girls.

Her sister, Sonia Cywink, was last seen alive on Aug. 26, 1994, at the corner of Dundas and Lyle Streets in London, Ont.

Her body was found in Southwold Township four days later.

Sonia was 24 weeks pregnant at the time.

Despite repeated family and police campaigns, her homicide remains unsolved.

“We’re still out there looking for leads, looking for people to come forward,” shared Cywink.

As the National Day of Action is marked, Cywink said better resources are needed to protect Indigenous people at risk.

She is calling on political leaders to act, “It’s not just the politicians that sit in parliament or Toronto. I think it’s right in our communities that we need that support from our chiefs, councils, and communities."

Meggie Cywink is seen in an online interview with CTV News London on Oct. 4, 2023. (Sean Irvine/CTV News London)

Oneida of the Thames Chief Todd Cornelius recognizes the need.

“The significance of murdered and missing Indigenous women is still happening to this day. As I do have my own daughter, I couldn’t imagine the pain. We should be grieving regularly for our murdered and missing Indigenous women,” Cornelius told CTV News.

But grief isn’t the same as closure, Cywink contends.

To bring closure to the families of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, she said the public will need to step up.

“Somebody knows something,” she said.

And, in the case of her late sister Sonia, she is hopeful just one person - who might have been holding a secret for decades - will finally step forward.

To encourage it, she’s pleading for empathy.

“Would they want to be kept in the dark for 30 years, if it was their loved one who was murdered and gone missing?” Cywink questioned.