A small group gathered in Red Deer on International Women’s Day to stand in solidarity with the families of two Indigenous women waiting for a landfill north of Winnipeg to be searched where their remains are believed to be.
Similar events across Canada on Friday were being called a National Day of Action to search the landfill.
Jeremy Skibicki has been charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran, who are believed to be at the Prairie Green Landfill. He was also charged in the deaths of Rebecca Contois, whose partial remains were found in a different landfill in 2022, and an unidentified woman Indigenous leaders are calling Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe, or Buffalo Woman.
Red Deer organizer Amy E. said on International Women’s Day it was important to stand up for Indigenous women.
“It’s not just a Manitoba issue. It’s an Alberta issue. It’s a Turtle Island (North American) issue. All of our women have value and deserve to be remembered,” said Amy E. before a ceremony was held in City Hall Park Friday morning.
“They’re in that landfill and they need to be found so they need to search it.”
Related:
Report details cost estimates, risks of proposed Manitoba landfill search
The families, along with supporters and Indigenous leaders, rallied outside the Manitoba Legislature on Friday and accused the government of delays and inaction.
Cambria Harris, whose mother, Morgan Harris, is believed to have been killed and taken to the Prairie Green Landfill, said she hasn’t heard from the province in weeks.
She said Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew has yet to follow through on a promise to search the landfill, and she’s hoping for movement at a meeting set for March 25 with the provincial and federal governments.
A search of the landfill, which accepts asbestos, could cost $90 million according to an operational planning report.
Related:
Ottawa puts more money toward study of Winnipeg landfill search for women’s remains
Amy E. is the executive director of HOME (Hope Opportunity Mobilization Education Society) which is a new group for Indigenous, two-spirit and trans to gather.
“We’re in the city now and we’re trying to build a shelter for at risk youth who are running so we have no more missing girls.”
— with files from The Canadian Press
szielinski@reddeeradvocate.com
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