It should have been this girl's 18th birthday. Instead, it was her vigil

Galiwin'ku community members hold vigil for alleged murder victim on her 18th birthday In short: Hundreds of members of the Galiwin'ku community marched and held a candlelight vigil to remember a teenaged girl who was allegedly murdered last month. She has been remembered as a kind and cheeky girl, who was a leader in a local girls' empowerment program. A 34-year-old man has been charged with her murder and police allege she was in a domestic relationship with him at the time of her death. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains the name and photo of an Aboriginal person who has died, used with the permission of their family. Instead of celebrating a "kind and loving" local girl's 18th birthday, last night more than 200 people on Elcho Island in the remote Northern Territory gathered for a vigil to remember her following her alleged murder last month. The mourners marched through the community of Galiwin'ku to the girl's parents' home where 'happy birthday' banners hung on the patio and candles were lit in honour of her short life. The girl, referred to as T. Bukulatjpi, had been in her final year of high school and had a leadership role with her local girls' empowerment program. She was found dead in an Elcho Island home on July 6 from what police have alleged were blunt force injuries. A 34-year-old man, who police allege she was in a domestic relationship with, has been charged with her murder. Her uncle Marcus Lacey said "in Yolŋu terms, she was one of my daughters", and that she was the next in line to be taught her grandmother's cultural knowledge. "Describing our daughter, she was very loving, kind, gentle, cheeky,"he said. "Coming from a Yolŋu all male [family], this has really hurt my mum, her grandmother, because she never had daughters. "She was a really beautiful, kind woman." Pillar of girl empowerment group Before her tragic death, T. Bukulatjpi was part of a local group called 'Girl Power', which was led by her second cousin and chairperson of Yalu Aboriginal Corporation, Jasmine Yunupiŋu. The group provides young women a safe space to feel heard in yarning circles and works to empower them through programs like bush camps and self defence classes. Ms Yunupiŋu described the 17-year-old as a "young, precious girl" and a leader of the group, which was created to help young women have a voice. "She was so kind, she was loving … I can still see her smile,"she said. "She was very humble … she was one of the girls that had to pass out the message to other girls that [were] missing out on the program. "We ended up with 50 girls coming to the program." Participants from the Girl Power program attended the vigil to remember their friend, but Ms Yunupiŋu said it was also an opportunity to stand against violence in the community. "We all know that violence affects all of us, our children, our families, our whole community — we must continue to speak up and teach our young people that violence is never the answer," she said. "The chain starts with all of us. "We must stand strong together and say no more violence for our children, our families." A time to speak up Yalu Aboriginal Corporation chief executive Anahita Tonkin said in addition to the candles, community members brought ribbons to the vigil: white for domestic violence, and grey and black, which were T. Bukulatjpi's favourite colours. After the mourners visited the girl's parents' home, Mr Lacey decided the community needed to face the place where she was found dead. "Marcus led us to the house where she [allegedly] took her last breath," Ms Tonkin said. "We stood there and it was organised by Marcus to have people speak up." Mr Lacey said being at the site of the alleged murder and speaking about what had occurred there was important to him. "We need to break that chain, that curse and speak openly about it," he said. "Because if we don't speak openly about it in that area where she was taken, then it's not valued. "We need to value life and value the situation." The family of the victim and the alleged perpetrator were both present at the vigil, with speeches given by a local women's shelter, police and community members.