By Jamie-Lee McKenzie
A new mural on the side of the the Staples building on Ogilive Street will honour Wendy and Angel Carlick, the Whitehorse mother and daughter who were killed 10 years apart.
Angel Carlick was just 19 when she was killed in 2007. This past April her mother Wendy Carlick was found murdered in Whitehorse.
Wendy Carlick was a known advocate for missing and murdered Indigenous women. After the death of her daughter, she began advocating for more support for victims’ families.
The idea for this mural began months ago when Yukon’s Youth of Today Society were invited to attend a conference to learn more about missing and murdered Indigenous women. The project started off small but it grew into the idea for the mural, said Lancelot Burton, executive director for the Youth of Today Society.
At first, it was to feature Angel because she worked with the society and they thought it would be good way to honour her, said Burton. But the artists liked the idea of including her mother in the mural too.
“We decided to add Wendy, to put the mother and daughter together,” said Burton.
There are still murals around the city that include some of Angel’s work from her time with the society.
Burton is leading the project and helping guide the youth in the creation of this mural, but they were involved in the initial design and painting.
“It’s all about the youth and the youth are designing as well as painting, but with the guidance of our mentors,” he said.
Burton hopes that the mural will help people in the community heal.
“We know there’s a healing process going on and the community can also get involved so they can all take time to paint as well,” said Burton.
Some of Angel and Wendy’s family members have also been stopping by the mural, both to help paint and to thank the society for creating it, he said.
“I think this is such a well known issue. A lot of people are very saddened by this, so I think by them getting involved, it gives them a sense of closure,” said Burton.
Contact Jamie-Lee McKenzie at jamielee.mckenzie@yukon-news.com
