Michael Collins of SIIT donated red dresses to Krista Fox who will bring them to a MMIWG protest in Winnipeg. (Submitted photo/Krista Fox)

By Teena Monteleone

MMIWG

Local advocates taking support to MMWIG protests in Winnipeg

Jul 31, 2023 | 5:07 PM

A Battlefords-area grandmother who walked across the country last year to raise awareness about the missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls (MMIWG) crisis, is once again lending her support to the families of victims.

Krista Fox will be travelling to Manitoba later this week to join dozens of protestors who have blocked the main road of a landfill north of Winnipeg where its believed the remains of some Indigenous women were dumped last year.

“After my 14-year-old grandson was murdered in Saskatoon in 2020, I really got lost. I didn’t think it would ever happen to me. I knew I needed to do more and this genocide against our people needed to end,” said Fox.

During her walk she connected with hundreds of families whose loved ones were also missing or murdered – including the families of Rebecca Contois, Marcedes Myran and Morgan Harris – who are all believed to be victims of alleged serial killer Michael Anthony Skibicki in Winnipeg. A blockade at the landfills began weeks ago after Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson said the province would not support a search for their remains because it could cost $184 million dollars, posed safety risks and didn’t guarantee success.

“My reaction would be – what if that was your loved one? What if that was your mother…your sister? Do you think there would be a dollar sign on it?,” Fox said.

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Fox plans to spend time at the encampments to show her support. She is close with Cambria Harris, the daughter of one of the victims.

“You know what breaks my heart? When I see Cambria’s little two-year old girl who is out on that road with her mom walking back and forth beside that landfill. That little girl’s grandmother is in that landfill,” Fox said. “Enough is enough. Bring these grandmothers, these mothers, these sisters, these aunts…bring them home.”

Joining Fox on the trip to Winnipeg will be Diane Morin, the mother of Ashley Morin – a 31-year-old woman from the Ahtahkakoop First Nation who was reported missing from North Battleford in July of 2018. Before they leave this Friday, they will be collecting red dresses which will be used to line the fences of the landfills. Fox’s employer Michael Collins, the career centre manager at SIIT, was among the first to donate.

“We just want to show the families that there are people across Turtle Island who stand with them.”

Fox said the organizers of the encampments are hoping for 10,000 dresses. Anyone who would like to donate can contact Krista Fox on Facebook or email foxk@siit.ca

*with files from The Canadian Press

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Teena.Monteleone@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW