Against a brisk wind, supporters joined Krista Fox and Lindsey Bishop as they walked along the shoulder of Highway 16 into Saskatoon on Friday.
They planned to stop over for a few days before they continue on their cross-country journey to raise awareness about Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people.
Fox is walking for her grandson, who was killed in December 2020, with Diane Morin, mother of Ashley Morin. Bishop is walking for her sister, Megan Michelle Gallagher. Morin and Gallagher are missing and police are investigating their disappearances as homicides. Morin was last seen on July 10, 2018 in North Battleford. The last sighting of Gallagher was on a convenience store’s surveillance video in Saskatoon on Sept. 20, 2020.
The supporters were soon joined by a contingent of small children from a daycare who arrived on yellow school buses. The group was escorted by members of the Saskatoon Police Service as they continued to travel east, arriving in downtown Saskatoon just before noon.
Fox and Bishop started the walk in Victoria, B.C. on Feb. 18. Their journey is expected to take 10 months from start to finish. While one aim is to raise awareness, another is to connect to other families in similar situations.
At a welcoming ceremony, Fox read the names of Indigenous people who have been taken from their families too soon.
“That’s why we do what we do. That’s only a small list of names of families who have blessed us and honoured us with allowing us to speak of their loved ones,” Fox said.
She wants to prevent another generation from having gatherings like this, or hurting like this, she said.
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“This is not a family that anyone wants to belong to. But I know I couldn’t do it without each and every one of them.”
Morin was 31 at the time of her disappearance and has been described as a quiet athlete who was involved in soccer and hockey, and loved baseball. Gallagher was 30 at the time of her disappearance and has been described as gentle and giving, pursuing her passion to become a chef.
The Gallagher and Morin families were joined Friday afternoon by families of women who have gone missing or been murdered.
Faith Bosse was only three years old when her mother, Daleen Kay Bosse, a 25-year-old university student, was murdered in 2004.
Faith, who has been attending awareness walks since then, expressed gratitude for the people supporting Gallagher and Morin’s families.
Myrna LaPlante of Iskwewuk E-wichiwitochik (Women Walking Together), a support group for families, is the niece of Emily Osmond, 78, who went missing in 2007 in Raymore, Sask. Osmond’s disappearance has not been solved.
LaPlante said June 3 will mark two years since the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls issued its final report.
Along the way, Fox said she wants to advocate in each province for positions like that of Dorothea Swiftwolfe, who is the missing person liaison with Victim Services in Saskatoon. Swiftwolfe, the welcoming ceremony MC, walked alongside the families on Friday.
“My primary job is to support hope. And supporting hope is walking from the outskirts of Saskatoon, walking to North Battleford, walking wherever they need me to be. That’s where I’ll be,” she said.
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On Saturday afternoon, Gallagher’s family plans to hold a birthday celebration for her in Kinsmen Park. On Tuesday, Bishop and Fox are to continue their walk from Grasswood Road and Highway 11.
