Vancouver to hold ‘search the landfill’ demonstration in solidarity with Manitoba First Nations

A demonstration honouring the deaths of three Indigenous women in Manitoba will be held in Vancouver on Monday evening.

The event at CRAB Park is one of many “Search the Landfills” events taking place around the country. It’s in response to law enforcement in Manitoba refusing to search two Winnipeg landfills for the remains of missing Indigenous women Marcedes Myran, Morgan Harris, and an unidentified woman whom the community has named Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe, or “Buffalo Woman.”

“The message we’re hoping to send out to the families of the women who are laying in those landfills is that we hear them, we support them, we pray for them, and we hope they find some resolution,” said Katherine Cooper, an organizer of the event in Vancouver.

A Winnipeg man faces first-degree murder charges in relation to the disappearances of the three women — whose bodies have not been found. Despite pushes from Indigenous organizations, law enforcement has not searched Winnipeg landfills for the women’s remains citing “safety risks.”

The same man is also accused of the murder of Rebecca Contois, whose body was found in a Winnipeg landfill in 2022.

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Cooper tells CityNews she recently moved to B.C. from Manitoba and has been following the situation closely.

“For us as Indigenous women that are close to this issue, it’s important that we continue showing our solidarity, continue voicing our concerns as Indigenous women regardless of where we live,” she said.

Amnesty International says Monday will mark International Day of Action to Search the Landfills. In addition to Vancouver, vigils will also be held in Montreal, Winnipeg, and Prince George, with Toronto scheduled to hold one on Thursday.

Amnesty says a feasibility study found that the safety risks associated with searching the landfills could be mitigated, also pointing to previous successful landfill searches for human remains in Canada.

“Indigenous women … we have so many obstacles in our way in terms of how Canada views us. With the premier of Manitoba rejecting the search of the landfill, it’s another message that says ‘we don’t see you, I don’t hear you, and you don’t matter,’ and that’s not acceptable,” said Cooper.

The event in Vancouver will take place at 6 p.m. at CRAB Park.