** DISCLAIMER: this is disturbing AF and is intended for a non-Indigenous audience to inspire action and accountability

August 2 2023

I had a conversation this morning with a man from the Winnipeg Police Department. I wanted to get more information about why the local landfills (Prairie Green and Bradie) haven’t been thoroughly searched for the remains of several Indigenous women who are suspected to be disposed of there after being brutally murdered.

I initially read reports about the deaths of Morgan Harris, Marcedes Myran, Rebecca Contois and Mashkode Bizhiki'ikwe (Buffalo Woman) at the hands of serial killer Jeremy Skibicki near the end of last year. As Manitoba MLA Nahanni Fontaine put it, he “Went on a killing spree. He targeted and slaughtered Indigenous women because he knew or thought that nobody would care. He targeted the most vulnerable of our society. Those that we should be protecting the most. And he treated them as if they were garbage.. we are not disposable, we are sacred and we are loved by our families.”

Leading up to the murders Skibicki was accused of rape and threats of violence with a knife against a pregnant woman. He also posted violent rants and antisemitic and White supremacist content on his Facebook page; and he questioned the discovery of unmarked graves at residential schools.

**

An initial study was done last year for the possibility of searching the Prairie Green landfill, where the remains of Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran are considered to be, and the police department determined that it “wasn’t feasible.” In a posting by Lynn-Marie Angus of Sisters Sage she says, “The remains of Rebecca Contois and Laura Mary Beardy were previously recovered from this land fill. Serial killer Jeremy Skibicki hunted vulnerable Indigenous women and confessed to their disposal at the dump. City officials are aware and yet still have denied the search for these women, stating it’s too pricy. Canada spent at least 2.4 million to search for the billionaires who willingly went to view the titanic in an unregulated submarine. Read that again and let that sink in.”

In 2021 in Ontario the body of a 57 year-old White man who had been missing for 8 months was found after a landfill search. And according to The Conversation news source, “the total cost of the search was neither publicly contemplated nor calculated in advance by policymakers and neither was it communicated by any media.”

And, shut the front door: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CuqMbfAIRQK/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Yes, these searches are extremely complex and tedious and challenging, but they are necessary, both to bring closure for families and for murder charges to be feasible. Without remains it’s very difficult to prosecute a person.

**

When I spoke to the representative from the Winnipeg police department and asked for information about why the landfills hadn’t been searched, he told me that it was “out of our hands” and that it was up to the Provincial government and that I should get a hold of them. I wanted to know why the police didn’t initially carry out a search. He told me that they had done their "due diligence” bringing in various consultants and then reiterated that the Provincial government had taken it over and that he didn’t "have anything further to comment about it". I told him that I felt like it was a game of ping pong as far as getting clear answers and he acknowledged that I had made a legitimate comment, though provided no solutions or further information.

He called the negative attention that the department was receiving "baseless accusations" that were the result of "a few squeaky wheels" and people who "can't see the forest through the trees."

Then he added, "I won't even admit I said that, but I did."

I told him about the TikTok post I had seen where remains of other people had been found in what was described as “finding a needle in a haystack”, and I wanted to know why in cases with missing non-Indigenous persons searches were able to be carried out against all odds, yet in the case of searching for the remains of up to three women (Buffalo Woman could potentially be in either the Brady or Prairie Green landfill), a search was not being considered. He response was “I don’t have an answer for you.” and then he emphasized “I’m not trying to skirt the issue”. He became somewhat defensive and told me about all of the hard work that him and his department have done on the front lines and that they have gone out of their way to do everything they can and repeated that they had done their "due dilligence"..

I then asked him if he thought that there were issues with racism in Winnipeg and he told me that there were issues with racism everywhere in all cities and all over the world and that it's something that everybody has to deal with including White people. He said that there's a lot of "reverse racism", and that he had experienced it personally.

I shared with him some of my experiences in moving to East Vancouver as a young teenager and experiencing what I initially thought to be reverse racism until I had a deeper understanding of colonialism and what Indigenous people had been through in the residential school system. 

I also told him about how I had been living in the neighbourhood where Willie Pickton (another White serial killer who preyed on Indigenous women) and others picked up their victims, and that I was aware of that case and all of the details as it progressed and how horribly it was handled by the Vancouver Police Department. I also told him about the Highway of Tears murders and how they only got widespread media attention after a young White woman was murdered. I spoke about systemic racism and the disproportionate issues that affect Indigenous people and suggested that he must be aware of these issues being a police officer and Winnipeg.

He thanked me for my comments and said that he appreciated my position and that I was entitled to my opinion. He said that he didn’t care who came through their doors, if they were “black green or blue” that they would be treated the same, and then said that he would like to end the conversation before either of us got "hot headed" as he put it. I told him that I was feeling quite calm and that I had no problem with the way the conversation was going thus far. I said that it was concerning to me that he didn't have an answer to my question as to why landfills have been searched in some cases, yet not in this one. He again told me that he wasn't trying to "skirt the issue" but that he had "nothing further to say" and then I interjected him and said “well you are if you can’t answer the question”.

I asked him for his name and he wouldn't give it to me. He told me that he had been with the force for 39 years and that they had chosen him to take these calls because he’s "a good listener and compassionate". He said that he didn’t need to give me his name and that the people who need to know who he is know that he’s a “trustworthy” person. I then became silent because I really didn’t know what to say. It seemed strange to have an older White man with no understanding of the ongoing issues that Indigenous people face to be screening calls of such a sensitive nature. After some time of silence he asked me if I was still there. Then he told me that he had to get off the phone because he had another call coming in and he hung up on me.

**

There has been a crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous persons on the lands that I call home. Thousands of women, girls and two-spirited people have disappeared or died in terrible ways. In 2019, 231 Calls for Justice were made to the governing bodies of these lands, and in 4 years only 2 of those calls have been completed..

**

If you would like to follow up with the Winnipeg Police Department yourself, here's the direct phone number: 204-986-6313.

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You can also write or call the premier of Manitoba, Heather Stefanson (the Federal government has offered to support a search though can’t take any initiative until there is Provincial approval):
Premier@manitoba.ca
(204) 945-3714
https://www.instagram.com/heather.stefanson/

*

Sign the Petition:
https://www.change.org/p/search-brady-and-prairie-green-landfills-for-missing-remains-in-winnipeg

*

Further Resources:

https://searchthelandfill.ca

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tw6z5kKhAiE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBVS94AUKrQ

https://theconversation.com/manitobas-reasons-for-refusing-to-search-for-indigenous-womens-remains-in-landfill-are-a-smokescreen-209930

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/prairie-green-landfill-search-feasible-forensic-anthropologist-1.6923186

https://www.timescolonist.com/national-news/no-guarantees-but-expert-says-search-of-landfill-for-womens-remains-may-succeed-6256710

https://www.collingwoodtoday.ca/national-news/winnipeg-police-defend-decision-to-not-search-landfill-for-womens-remains-6208524

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/prairie-green-landfill-search-feasible-forensic-anthropologist-1.6923186?fbclid=IwAR2rXLWUex3xEzptemr5Y8LC7JX6EZsHczkSKcJxoeUCweuOXJ8Z23s6F80

https://www.newmarkettoday.ca/national-news/police-believe-remains-of-three-women-in-winnipeg-landfill-but-do-not-plan-to-search-6190340

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/jeremy-skibicki-winnipeg-alleged-serial-killer-timeline-1.6681433

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/rebecca-contois-homicide-jeremy-skibicki-neo-nazi-holy-europe-1.6462730

https://canadanewsmedia.ca/accused-killers-social-media-rife-with-violence-winnipeg-free-press/

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/nathaniel-brettell-london-ontario-toronto-1.6163057

https://www.ubcic.bc.ca/canadafailingindigenouspeoples

Women's Memorial March


** UPDATE Novemeber 29 2023: **
Manitoba's New Premier Brings Hope to the Search for Indigenous Remains