Families of Slain Indigenous Women push for Government Action

Canadian authorities believe the remains of two Indigenous women, 39-year-old Morgan Beatrice Harris  and 26-year-old Marcedes Myran – both of Long Plain First Nation – are believed to have been dumped in the Prairie Green landfill. It is suspected a third unidentified woman was murdered and discarded in the landfill. She was given the ceremonial name Buffalo Woman by Indigenous elders. Family members and Indigenous activists are pushing for the landfill to be searched to seek justice for the slain women and provide a proper burial. 

September 18, 2023 was declared a National Day of Action to Search the Landfill. After visiting Parliament in Ottawa, family members held a gathering near Place du Canada to call supporters to demand the provincial Winnipeg government and federal government to conduct a search in the Prairie Green landfill to search.

Daughter of Harris, Cambria Harris and cousin of Harris, Melissa Robinson both spoke at the gathering, recounting their push for government action and the lack of response by authorities. The event was hosted by Iskweu, a project run through the Native Women's Shelter, which supports Indigenous families in need of help in the case where a family member has gone missions. 

Manitoba premier Heather Stefanson and the federal government continue to deny a search of the landfill. A federally funded feasibility study says it's possible to conduct a search in Prairie Green Landfill, but that this could take 3 years and $184 million, and workers would be at risk of asbestos an other hazards. Stefanson said risks are too high with no guarantee of the remains being discovered. 

Last year, Jeremy Anthony Michael Skibicki was charged with four counts of first-degree murder in the death of four Indigenous women, including the murder of 24-year-old Rebecca Contois of O-Chi-Chak-Ko-Sipi First Nation.

Several calls to action have been made to address the ongoing violence that Indigenous women, girls, and two-spirit trans people face. Many Indigenous activists urge Canadians to read these calls to action in the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.