Advocates for missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and gender-diverse people are praising the strength and determination of the families of two First Nations women who fought for a search of a Winnipeg-area landfill for their loved ones’ remains.
Sheila North, the former grand chief of northern First Nations advocacy organization Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak, said she was flooded with emotion Friday evening, when the family of Morgan Harris and the provincial government confirmed Harris’s remains had been recovered at the Prairie Green landfill.
The province said on Feb. 26 that potential remains had been found at the landfill, north of Winnipeg. On Friday night, it confirmed those were the remains of Harris. The province also said a second set of human remains had been found there, but the identity of that person has not yet been confirmed.
Speaking with CBC Manitoba’s Weekend Morning Show on Saturday, North became emotional as she acknowledged the love and strength of the families who have tirelessly pushed to find their loved ones’ remains and lay them to rest.
“They took us on a journey that we all needed as a country — not just as a city, but as a nation — to show us that the fight is worth it and that the fight is hard, but you know, this is what happens when we don’t give up,” she said.
“This is a victory for the families, for the allies, for the friends that worked hard, but also for other people that have kept the fight up all these years as well.”
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said Saturday he hopes the Harris family will have some sense of closure and healing now that they can hold a sacred ceremony to memorialize her.
“Through this journey, we have seen some remarkable strength and resilience and power from the family of Morgan,” he said during a Saturday afternoon news conference at Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata Centre in Winnipeg.
He also said he spoke to the Harris family on Friday evening, telling them, “Morgan’s lucky to have you.”
WATCH | Manitoba premier praises ‘remarkable strength’ of Morgan Harris’s family
Speaking to reporters a day after the province confirmed the remains of Morgan Harris were found at a Winnipeg-area landfill, Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew praised the resilience and persistence the slain woman’s family has shown in their years-long fight for a search of the landfill.
“I don’t know how many of us would have had the persistence they’ve shown over the last couple years,” he said.
“I hope that we recognize the family members of Morgan and Marcedes [Myran] as having been the people who called us to our better nature and to do the right thing.”
He said the second set of remains has not yet been identified, and until then, the search at Prairie Green will continue.
Families of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people (MMIWG2S) have been working alongside undergraduate forensic anthropology students from Manitoba and other parts of Canada to search the landfill, Kinew said.
“In some ways the search effort itself is a microcosm of where we’re at as a country … people from different walks of life coming together to try to do the right thing for these families,” the premier said.
Excavation began at the privately run landfill in December, as part of the search for the remains of Harris, 39, and Myran, 26, both from Long Plain First Nation.
They were among four First Nations women, along with 24-year-old Rebecca Contois from O-Chi-Chak-Ko-Sipi First Nation and a still-unidentified woman given the name Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe, or Buffalo Woman, who were murdered by serial killer Jeremy Skibicki in Winnipeg in early 2022.
He was convicted last July of four counts of first-degree murder.
While it was long believed the remains of Harris and Myran had been left in a Winnipeg dumpster and taken to the landfill after they were killed in May 2022, both Winnipeg police and Manitoba’s former Progressive Conservative government argued against searching the landfill, citing safety concerns and the feasibility of a search.
North called that decision “cruel,” and said she hopes those involved in denying the search will reflect on it, and work to make amends with the families and communities hurt by their actions.
Earlier this week, Wayne Ewasko, the interim leader of the now Opposition PCs, extended an apology in the Manitoba Legislature for the Tory government’s decision, which became part of the 2023 provincial election that led to the party’s defeat. The NDP, which won the election, had promised a search during the campaign.
In a statement emailed to CBC on Saturday, Ewasko extended “deepest condolences to the family and friends of Morgan Harris,” and said he hopes the confirmation “will start to bring closure for the family and to this tragic chapter in our province’s history.”
A statement emailed to CBC on behalf of Gene Bowers, who was announced Friday as the incoming chief of the Winnipeg Police Service, offered condolences to the families of Skibicki’s victims and “all families who are awaiting word on their missing loved ones.”
Bowers said as chief, he wants the police service to “become leaders in reconciliation,” and “the first step on that journey will be … [speaking] directly with the Harris and Myran families and their respective supports in the Indigenous community before any public comment is made.”
CBC News has also reached out to former Manitoba premier Heather Stefanson for comment.
CBC was unable to reach former Winnipeg police chief Danny Smyth.
Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Gary Anandasangaree said in a statement Saturday the federal government “remains committed to our partnership with Manitoba as the search continues for Marcedes Myran and Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe (Buffalo Woman).”
A bittersweet victory: advocate
Sandra DeLaronde, who was among the Indigenous leaders and advocates who urged the federal government to fund a landfill search, said the remains wouldn’t have been discovered without a collective effort, including from the federal Liberal government and the current provincial government, both of which supported the search.
“I think for the rest of Canada and the rest of the world, they now know how Indigenous women, girls and gender-diverse people have to fight for their lives and fight for equity every day,” DeLaronde said.
She also said the bittersweet victory is an opportunity for governments to review steps they’re taking to help protect marginalized and vulnerable people, and commit to the 231 calls for justice from the final report of the 2019 National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
Many families, including those of Myran, Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe and Tanya Nepinak — a woman from Pine Creek First Nation whose remains were unsuccessfully searched for at Winnipeg’s Brady Road landfill in 2012 — are still waiting for closure, said DeLaronde, and the discovery of human remains can trigger ongoing trauma and grief for families still searching.
WATCH | Advocate says Morgan Harris ‘finally coming home’:
WARNING: This video contains details concerning the murders of First Nations women.
Sandra DeLaronde, an advocate for missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls and two-spirit persons, says the confirmation of Morgan Harris’s remains in a landfill outside Winnipeg is the result of hard work from Manitobans who believe in human rights, but more measures are required to protect the vulnerable.
Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/1.7478514
Crisis support is available for anyone affected by these reports and the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous people through a national 24-hour hotline at 1-844-413-6649.
Hilda Anderson-Pyrz, chair of the National Family and Survivors Circle, said when she heard about the discovery at Prairie Green, she immediately thought of Harris’s children, and their more than two-year fight to give their mother a proper burial.
“I just want them to feel supported by community, and to know that they’re loved and that the community will surround them … during this very difficult time as they bring their mother home,” Anderson-Pyrz said.
She asked Manitobans to think about what they would do if their mother, daughter, sister, aunt or grandmother was in the landfill.
“You would do everything in your power to ensure that your loved one was brought home and buried in ceremony,” she said.
Anderson-Pyrz echoed the need for action from governments to protect vulnerable groups, including supporting spaces like shelters to prevent cases like this — where a serial killer preyed on vulnerable Indigenous women — from happening.
Crisis support is available for anyone affected by these reports and the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous people through a national 24-hour hotline at 1-844-413-6649.
Health support services such as mental health counselling, community-based support and cultural services, and some travel costs to see elders and traditional healers are available through the government of Canada. Family members seeking information about a missing or murdered loved one can access Family Information Liaison Units.
