A North Battleford woman is raising awareness and creating understanding for missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls (MMIWG) by walking coast-to-coast.
Krista Fox has been the family advocate for Ashley Morin since she vanished from North Battleford nearly four years ago. She’s organized three successful walks in the past, from Saskatoon to North Battleford, for the Morin family and for those who have been personally affected.
Fox began her trek from Victoria, British Columbia back in February. Since then, she has made her way through BC and Alberta, with her arrival in Regina on Tuesday night.
“It is tough, belonging to this MMIWG family. As a family, we don’t wish anybody to ever be a part of it. But unfortunately, somebody made that decision for us. And now we have to live with what’s left here. Whether that be not knowing where our loved one is, visiting that grave site, whatever the case may be,” Fox told CTV News Tuesday.
Wednesday morning, Fox held an event at the Cree Land Mini Mart. It included Regina City Police, Regina Mayor Sandra Masters, along with others who have been affected, including Regina’s Stacey Desjarlais.
Desjarlais’ daughter, Brooke Keewatin-Desjarlais, died in November.
“I’m walking for my daughter today and to support all the other families that are going through this, because I know how hard it is and this is something I just thought I would never go through. I’m here to support,” said Desjarlais.
She said Brooke would be 26 years old now.
“These events are very important for our people because many times our people go unnoticed. And their disappearances and their deaths aren’t handled the way we would like them to be handled. So we do these kinds of things to raise awareness because every child matters and every woman matters and they all need to be respected and honored,” Desjarlais added.
Desjarlais, Fox and the crowd made their way to the Legislature through a police escort, something Fox said will bring eyes to their cause.
“They’ll know we’re there. But, a big part of it is one — We’re connecting. We’re making those relationships, having the RCMP support what we’re doing. Two — the people in the city of Regina, will know, because [they’ll say], ‘I see a group of people walking in,’ especially if there’s police lights beside them. You want to know what’s going on, you may stop. You may look at the signs that they’re carrying and say, ‘Hey, what are they walking for?’ So again, it’s all about awareness,” Fox said.
During her journey, Fox has spoken to many who have been affected, and many who have lost loved ones. She said she carries their stories and their weight as she makes her way across Canada.
“A lot of our people who have been missing or murdered have children of their own, and these children are growing up without their parent,” Fox said. “I know it’s tough. There are many days that I’ve looked at those mothers and sisters and brothers and grandparents and kids and think, ‘You are the strongest person I know, because I don’t know how you do it.’”
A few of the questions Fox has been asked on her walk around the statistics of MMIWG have left her without an answer to provide.
“I hate statistics,” Fox said. “But, if you want to talk about Ashley Morin, or Meghan Gallagher or Happy Charles… then let’s talk. When we do talk about them as family members, what I’ve noticed is we don’t talk about the taking, or the court, or the crime. We talk about, ‘Ashley was a six time FSIN soccer champion. Megan loved her puppies and her stepdaughter of her… Those are the things we want to talk about. We don’t want to talk about what brought us to where we are today.”
Fox is now nearing her halfway point across the country. Her final stop de ella is planned in Newfoundland in early December before returning home to North Battleford in time for Christmas.