People got together to bring more attention to Indigenous people who have gone missing or been killed
The hot June sun is beating down on a group of people who are trying to find shade under a pine tree that is taller than them.
Elders, hand-drummers, and community members are getting together for a small ceremony at the Terry Fox monument off the Trans-Canada Highway in Thunder Bay, Ont. They are here to show support for Charity and Cameron West, who are walking across Canada to bring attention to murdered and missing Indigenous people all over the country.
In May, Charity and Cameron left their home in Prince George, B.C., and started their trip. They decided to start walking on a Sunday and left just a few days later.
Charity is walking in honor of Barry Seymour, the father of her son, who went missing in 2012 after celebrating his ninth birthday with them. She walks in his honor to bring attention to a problem that is getting worse in Canada. Even so, Charity said that this is just one of many stories.
“We didn’t just lose like Barry… Cameron’s cousin died. Charity said, “I’ve lost a lot of cousins and other family members.”
The couple takes turns walking for five kilometers while the other person drives behind them in a dark blue Ford truck. They do this about 50 times a day.
The handprints of allies from all over Canada are painted on the sides of the truck that is following. Big flags are attached to the back of the truck’s box, and a big white sign that says “Walker Ahead” is on the back to warn oncoming traffic of their presence.
Cameron said that the support they get is what keeps them going on their journey, and they feel honored when people with similar stories to their own talk about how important the walk is.
“A lot of things are going through our minds. Sometimes, we even doubt ourselves… “At the end of the day, you look at all the messages, comments, and messages from people telling us to keep going,” Cameron said.
It’s important to the community
With the help of the hand drummers and the older people, everyone stood around the two of them, smoking tobacco and saying positive things and prayers for them and their journey.
Anna Betty Achneepineskum, the deputy grand chief of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation, was there to help send the couple off on the rest of their 3,710 km walk to St. John’s, Newfoundland, where their walk will end.
Achneepineskum said that the support of a walk like the one the Wests are on is very important to Thunder Bay and the areas around it.
“There are a lot of cold cases that involve people from the First Nation. Achneepineskum said, “We need to work together to deal with and also stop these.”
An investigation team that looked into sudden deaths of Indigenous people in Thunder Bay last year said that 14 cases should be looked into again. The report also says that the cases of 25 missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls from Thunder Bay should be looked into.
Achneepineskum made suggestions about what needs to be done to help stop Indigenous people from going missing or being killed.
She said, “There needs to be more help from the police.”
She also says that the courts and people who work in the justice system should take responsibility for how they have hurt Indigenous people.
For the next generatio
People of all ages can learn something from the walk.
As a summer student, Kirsta Goodman of the Biinjitiwaabik Zaaging Anishinaabek First Nation works for the Nishnawbe Aski Nation in the department of reclamation and healing. She and her friend walked to show support for the people who were missing or killed.
Goodman thinks that as a young Anishnawbe woman, it is her duty to do this.
“It’s my job to go to things like this… She said, “This is how we change the future.”
She found unity in the fact that people from all walks of life painted their hands and put them on the truck that will follow the Wests for the rest of their trip.