Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women strikes a cord with the people in the Ahtahkakoop Cree Nation.
Ashley Morin still remains missing, as she was last seen on July 10, 2018. And many family members and the rest of the community still remember Jean Lachance, whose missing case became high profile in the 1990s.
But the community came together to show their support for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Day with their annual Walk a Mile in Her Shoes event.
“It’s personal for us in Ahtahkakoop. We currently have a young lady missing from our reserve. It really hits close to home,” Garth Peekeekoot, Ahtahkakoop Health Clinic’s facility supervisor, said. “It’s our reality, as First Nations people, that women go missing. It’s an epidemic that doesn’t get mentioned enough, but I think it’s on the upswing in that area. The awareness is getting up there.”