Krista Fox (centre) is pictured during her welcome to the Border City with fellow MMIW family members Diane Morin (left) and Lindsey Bishop. Taylor Weaver Meridian Source
Last Monday’s biting cold and blowing snow was no match for the warmth being shared at City Hall as Krista Fox walked into town.
Fox, a 54-year-old grandmother from North Battleford, is currently trekking across the country by foot in an effort to raise awareness for the thousands of Indigenous women who have gone missing or have been murdered in Canada.
The 10-month walk kicked off on Feb. 18 in Victoria, B.C. Fox and her team of walkers and support personnel are planning to finish before Christmas in St. John’s, Nfld.
“I am a mother, a grandmother, a wife, and an MMIW advocate. As of Dec. 9, 2020, I became a part of this family (missing and murdered Indigenous women, MMIW) as my 14-year-old grandson was murdered in Saskatoon,” she said to a captivated audience at City Hall.
“In March of last year, I got this crazy idea. I felt like I wasn’t doing enough and enough wasn’t being done. People were forgetting to talk about our loved ones, which makes me often think that people don’t care.
“I thought ‘We need to be louder, we need to do something bigger,’ so I decided to walk across Canada.”
And that’s exactly what she’s been doing, but she’s not alone.
“To my right, known as Mamma Bear to us, is Diane Morin, her daughter Ashley Morin has been missing since July 10, 2018, and we’ve yet to bring her home or find those responsible for her taking,” said Fox.
“To my left is Lindsey Bishop, who is the sister of missing Megan Gallagher. Megan’s been missing since September of 2020 from Saskatoon.”
In early February, Fox and Morin left home and went to the Highway of Tears, a 725 km stretch of Highway 16 between Prince George and Prince Rupert, B.C. known as the location of many missing and murdered Indigenous women dating back to the 1970s.
Family members of lost loved ones share a moment of silence at Lloydminster City Hall. Taylor Weaver Meridian Source Photo
“That was the most heartbreaking journey I’ve ever been on,” said Fox.
“We stepped out onto that highway and Mamma Bear and I layed tobacco down. Those first 10 steps, you could feel the spirits of our brothers and sisters who started on that journey and never made it to their destination. It is something I will never forget.”
Among the crowd at City Hall was Mayor Gerald Aalbers, who got special recognition from Fox.
“I want to acknowledge the mayor,” she said. “The reason I say that is, we’ve been on this journey for two months and he is the first mayor that has come out to greet us. To the mayor of Lloydminster, hay hay.”
Onion Lake Cree Nation Coun. Hubert Pahtayken was also in attendance and shared his thoughts on the meaning of the walk.
“It’s kind of sad, mixed emotions that I greet everybody. Trying to cope with our losses in the past still lingers on today as we speak,” said Pahtayken
“I meet the families that were affected, I see them every day. When the judge hits his desk with the gavel, they think the case is done. But no, there’s a lot of healing that still needs to take place. The only thing that will heal a broken heart is communication and love.
“We, not only the First Nation of Onion Lake, but our neighbouring community of Lloydminster, we need to put our differences aside. We need to not look at the pigmentation of skin, but look at the heart of that individual, as we are made from the one creator.”
One of Pahtayken’s main points was the fact today’s young people aren’t born discriminatory, that it is taught.
“I ask everybody, just for one day of your life, talk to your children and your neighbours about love and accepting one another. Guaranteed within the decade we won’t be seeing this; not only in the First Nations, but everywhere,” he said.
“Drugs and violence doesn’t know anything about discrimination.
“Please, I beg you for generations to come, (let’s) teach our young generation of who we truly should be, and that’s loving people.”
