Families of Vancouver’s missing and murdered Indigenous women call for justice

Demonstrators took to the Vancouver Police station on Graveley Street Monday, calling for justice for murdered Indigenous women.

They say three cases of Indigenous women who died in Metro Vancouver have been neglected by the police.

Frustration and anger were apparent as people who knew Tatyanna Harrison, Chelsea Poorman and Noelle O’Soup spoke about how they feel the police handled their cases.

Natasha Harrison, mother of 20-year-old Tatyanna Harrison whose body was found last May in Richmond, says she’s still waiting for answers after the coroner initially said Tatyanna died of drug toxicity.

“The information I gathered from the coroner and law enforcement. There was no evidence to support a fentanyl toxicity theory. In fact, with the evidence being presented to me, it was possible an assault had occurred,” she explained.

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CityNews reached out to the B.C. Coroner’s Office, which said it can’t comment as the investigation is still open.

While the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) says, in an email, that the department can’t speak to the coroners finding, but says it did work closely with Natasha Harrison throughout it’s investigation. The VPD adds this included consulting her about details released publicly after Tatyanna’s remains were found.

Last week, Leah Gazan, MP for Winnipeg Centre proposed “Red Dress Alerts.” These alerts would serve as a nationwide amber alert specifically for Indigenous women.

“Since the pandemic, there has been a drastic increase of violence against women, particularly indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people. And we need action. We need immediate action. We don’t have time to wait. Every moment we wait, another woman goes missing or murdered. That’s why we’re calling for a red dress alert,” said Gazan.

One of the organizers at the Vancouver rally says she thinks the alert would be a good idea.

“It’s important to get as much support as possible, because when the families feel like they’re not being supported by the police, it’s the community that helps out. So, that red dress alert would alert more people to come support, because sometimes these families are searching for their loved ones by themselves,” said Lorelei Williams, founder of Butterflies in Spirit.