Vigil for Indigenous woman Tatyanna Harrison to be held in September

A vigil for a missing Indigenous woman who was found dead in Richmond earlier this month is being held Saturday, Sept. 3.

Tatyanna Harrison was found on May 2, but not positively identified until Aug. 6. Unaccounted for more than eight weeks, Tatyanna was originally reported missing by her mother Natasha Harrison on May 3.

Working closely with Natasha since Tatyanna went missing, Lorelei Williams, founder of Butterflies in Spirit and Skatin and Sts’ailes Nation member, says holding the vigil as soon as possible after Tatyanna was found is important. It is also coming up on the anniversary of when Chelsea Poorman, Kawacatoose Nation member, went missing.

“It’s to honour and remember Tatyanna and raise awareness of the issue,” Williams told CityNews.

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Bringing together Tatyanna’s family, along with Poorman’s and Noelle O’Soup’s family — a missing 14-year-old Indigenous girl from Key and Saulteau Nations who was found dead May 1 — Williams says the vigil is a chance for the three families to come together to call for justice for their daughters.

“There’s a reason why Noelle and Chelsea are included. I feel like there’s so much that has happened in all of the cases, some similarities, but also the negligence, the discrimination, and the racism from the Vancouver Police Department in all of those cases,” Williams said.

“The families are showing their support for Tatyanna at this time, but Tatyanna’s family wants to bring light to all of these issues that have happened in all of these cases,” she added.

Williams says a change in the system is needed after all three Indigenous women were found dead after being reported missing.

With the vigil held in Richmond at Shelter Island Marina and Boatyard, where Tatyanna’s body was found, Williams says it’s going to be a particularly hard day for Natasha, but Indigenous ways of support, along with community members coming together to share in ceremony and culture, will be in abundance.

“A lot of changes need to be made, because our Indigenous women and girls’ lives are at stake, and these are pure examples of that,” Williams says.

Earlier this month, the Vancouver Police Department said that many questions remain, and on Thursday, Sgt. Steve Addison confirmed the VPD’s Major Crimes Unit was still actively investigating the lead-up to Tatyanna’s death. At the start of the month, however, the BC Coroner’s Service had informed the VPD that Tatyanna died from drug toxicity, specifically fentanyl.

In a statement to CityNews via Williams, Tatyanna’s mom Natasha says she is concerned that Vancouver police are not investigating it as a possible sex crime, and is concerned that a full toxicology report was not done.

“She had money in her bank since April 27th and never accessed it. … [I’m concerned the police] are labeling this non-suspicious and closing the case before a full toxicology report [is completed]. According to the coroner, the full report won’t be back for a possible 2 or 3 months,” Natasha wrote.

Tatyanna was last seen on March 23 on Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. The man who she was with was described by Vancouver police as being in his 30s or 40s with a slim build, a moustache, and stubble.

“Right off the bat, based off of information that we’ve been told and information we’ve discovered on our own, we don’t understand why it was not [deemed] suspicious right away,” Williams said. “The police deemed it non-suspicious, and that seems to be the common theme in all these cases.”

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Working on the three cases with the women’s families, Williams says she feels discrimination and racism at play within the investigations.

“I’ve publically said, the Vancouver Police Department [lets] insidious racism permeate their ranks.

“Indigenous women and girls have the right to live and the right to be protected by the institutions of our society,” Williams said. “VPD needs to stop devaluing and dehumanizing Indigenous women and girls and two-spirit people, by sending a clear message through their actions and negligence that the lives of Indigenous women and girls and two-spirit people do not matter.”

When police fail in their sworn obligations, Williams says, they are “just as guilty as those perpetrators they are sworn to bring justice.”

“The system is set up to fail Indigenous women, girls, and two-spirit people, making us easy targets for violent men. This is why our Indigenous women are going missing and being murdered at a high rate,” Williams said.

With all three families coming together on Saturday, Williams believes more information will come to light about the three cases, as they band together.

Lorelai Williams

Lorelei Williams with friends seeking justice for missing Indigenous woman Chelsea Poorman. (Supplied: Lorelei Williams)

“We just need all the support we can get, everybody’s invited. I feel like the more people we can get there, the better,” Williams said.

In a statement to CityNews, Vancouver police could not confirm whether it is investigating a possible sex crime in Tatyanna’s death.

“Our investigation continues to focus on Tatyanna’s movements in Vancouver and how she got to Richmond,” Sgt. Steve Addison said. “Because Tatyanna was discovered in Richmond, the Richmond RCMP and the BC Coroners Service is investigating the circumstances surrounding her death.”

Williams says Tatyanna’s case has been closed by Richmond Mounties, however, CityNews did not hear back from Richmond RCMP in time for publication to confirm that detail.

The vigil for Tatyanna will begin at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 3, at Shelter Island Marina and Boatyard — 6911 Graybar Rd, Richmond.

Busses will be transporting people from 22nd Street station for those who will be taking public transit to the event. More information can be found at Butterflies in Spirit.

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