Portage and Main round dance celebrates guilty decision for man who killed 4 Indigenous women
'Everyone will remember today … as history,' says MMIWG advocate
WARNING: This story contains distressing details.
Dozens of people took to the iconic intersection of Portage and Main in Winnipeg for a round dance Thursday afternoon, hours after a serial killer was convicted of first-degree murder in the deaths of four women.
Earlier Thursday, Jeremy Skibicki was found guilty of four counts of first-degree murder in the 2022 deaths of three First Nations women — Morgan Harris, 39, Marcedes Myran, 26, and Rebecca Contois, 24 — as well as an unidentified woman who has been given the name Mashkode Bizhiki'ikwe, or Buffalo Woman, by community leaders. Police have said they believe she was Indigenous and in her 20s.
Contois was a member of O-Chi-Chak-Ko-Sipi First Nation, also known as Crane River. Harris and Myran were both members of Long Plain First Nation.
The four first-degree murder convictions are "history-making for Indigenous people. That's something that we don't ever hear in court," said Sue Caribou, an advocate for missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people.
"I think everyone will remember today … as history."
Skibciki, 37, had admitted to killing all four women, but his defence argued during his trial that he should be found not criminally responsible due to a mental disorder — an argument Manitoba Court of King's Bench Chief Justice Glenn Joyal rejected.
Krista Fox, another MMIWG advocate, came from Saskatchewan for Thursday's decision, along with Diane Morrin, the mother of Ashley Morrin, who went missing from North Battleford in July 2018.
Saskatchewan RCMP said a year after her disappearance they believe she was the victim of a homicide.
Fox said a few years ago, she and Diane walked across Canada to bring awareness to missing and murdered Indigenous people, connecting with the families of Harris, Myran and Contois.
"We are here to gather together," Fox said Thursday. "We all know we're stronger together."
Some of those who attended the round dance reflected on the weight of the two years since the women were killed and the trial, which took place in May and June of this year.
"These families have been through a real big struggle," said Dana Kopnitsky. "I don't know the Contois family very well, but I am a distant relative to them, so for me to hear that somebody did that to somebody that's part of my family, it's just wrong."
Contois's partial remains were found in garbage bins near Skibicki's apartment and at the Brady Road landfill in Winnipeg, but Harris's and Myran's remains haven't been found.
They're believed to be at the Prairie Green landfill, north of Winnipeg, where a search is set to start this fall.
"As far as I'm concerned, a human's life means a lot more than garbage," said Kopnitsky. "What if it was your loved one in that landfill?"
Tara Martinez called the decision "bittersweet," saying while the judge's ruling is a reason to celebrate, it's important to remember the women who were killed.
"At the end of the day we're searching for people's deceased loved ones."
Accountability after 'dark violation': premier
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew also said in a statement that Thursday marked a significant day in the province's history, noting it's "important that there is accountability for what are some of the worst crimes in our province's history."
He spoke to the families of Myran, Harris and Contois after the decision to offer them support, the statement. Kinew said in the statement he also "lift[s] up Mashkode-Bizhiki'ikwe, the victim in this case whose identity we do not yet know."
"Women are sacred, and what the admitted serial killer has been found guilty of represents a dark violation of the way our society is supposed to function and of the basic dignity to which each person is entitled," the statement said.
Support is available for anyone affected by these reports and the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous people. Immediate emotional assistance and crisis support are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week through a national hotline at 1-844-413-6649.
You can also access, through the government of Canada, health support services such as mental health counselling, community-based support and cultural services, and some travel costs to see elders and traditional healers. Family members seeking information about a missing or murdered loved one can access Family Information Liaison Units.
With files from Zubina Ahmed