Canada's Genocide: Vindication for MMIWG2S+ movement

In 2019, the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women's Inquiry final report concluded that the thousands of deaths and disappearances of Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people (MMIWG2S+) are part of a “Canadian genocide” fueled by “state actions and inactions rooted in colonialism and colonial ideologies.” But out of 231 recommendations, only 2 had been completed by last June and most have seen minimal or no progress.

 

Under Canadian settler colonialism, Indigenous people must struggle relentlessly for the basic decency of burying their relatives. 

 

In late February the remains of two women were found at the Prairie Green landfill north of Winnipeg. This vindicates the Indigenous led fight to search the landfill. Volunteer searchers called "Morgan's Warriors" are also looking for other victims.

 

Four Indigenous women, who were murdered by a serial killer between March and May 2022 in Winnipeg, are the centre of this story.

 

24 year-old Rebecca Contois was a member of the O-Chi-Chak-Ko-Sipi (Crane River) First Nation; 39 year-old Morgan Harris and 26 year-old Marcedes Myran were members of the Long Plain Ojibway and Dakota First Nation; and a twenty-something still unidentified woman who was given the name Mashkode Bizhiki'ikwe (Buffalo Woman) by the Winnipeg Indigenous community. 

 

After police investigators found some of Rebeca Contois' remains in the Brady Road landfill in June 2022, police suspected that those of Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran were in the Prairie Green landfill. 

 

But they only announced this in December of 2022 when they declared the search infeasible. The families of the victims, members of the Winnipeg Indigenous community and supporters set up a protest camp, Camp Morgan, outside the Brady Road landfill demanding that the search be done. It became the focus for an outcry for justice across Turtle Island. 

 

The pressure led to a federally funded Indigenous led feasibility study. It reported in May 2023 that the search could go ahead safely and humanely. 

 

Many groups supported these calls, including CUPE 500 representing Winnipeg city workers, the United Church and others.

 

Despite this, "Heartless" Heather Stefanson, the Tory Manitoba Premier refused to fund the search, running in the October 2023 Manitoba election with the slogan "Stand Firm", meaning they wouldn't bow to the pressure. They even put up billboards boasting of their refusal. 

 

Wab Kinew from the Onigaming First Nation led his NDP government to victory in part by promising to fund the search.

 

But even so, progress has been slow. Searching began only last December. So the news of the findings of two bodies – one of whom was confirmed as being Morgan Harris on March 7th – came as a shock to the families. Morgan's daughter Elle Harris said in response "I wasn't expecting it so soon because of how hard we've had to fight for this." 

 

Jordan, sister of Marcedes Myron, spoke of how difficult it all was for her and her family, but added that she wanted "to thank all of the supporters that believed in us and helped us fight ... to get to this point. We couldn't have done it without you."

 

A cousin of Morgan Harris, Melissa Robinson, expressed her outrage at those who said "that it couldn't be done and that it wouldn't be done. It honestly just really just makes my blood boil. Here we are, less than three months of the search commencing and already remains have been found. … To hell with all you guys, because it got done. And it's just beginning."

 

Morgan’s daughter, Cambria Harris, called out the self-serving apology by the Manitoba Tory party in early March, questioning why it was “released publicly” without contacting the families directly and wondered if “they were genuinely sorry or if it was just to save face.” She added “Our families have done the work, now it’s up to them to prove us otherwise that they can be better human beings.”

 

Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) Grand Chief Cathy Merrick said in May 2023 that “Missing and murdered First Nations women and girls are mothers, sisters, cousins, granddaughters, aunties, or Kookums. These women’s lives mattered, and it breaks my heart to say: 'search for our women in landfills,' we shouldn’t have to be doing this.” 

 

At that time she presented six recommendations to prevent the further victimization of First Nations MMIWG2S+ and provide tangible accountability measures for all levels of government to take.

 

Fulfilling these are the first steps along a long road to justice that can only be fulfilled when the genocide of Indigenous people ends, and the settler colonial state of Canada is dismantled for good.