**
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.
*
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

image source: Seeding Sovereignty
|