Hundreds show up to birthday powwow honouring Morgan Harris as landfill search set to begin
'There's that little beacon of hope,' daughter says as plans to search for remains move ahead
People from all across Canada were in Manitoba this week to wish Morgan Harris a happy birthday.
More than 100 people showed up Saturday afternoon for a powwow honouring Harris at Camp Morgan, near the entrance to the city's Brady landfill.
Harris, from Long Plain First Nation north of Winnipeg, was 39 when she was killed by Jeremy Skibicki, who also murdered three other women: 26-year-old Marcedes Myran from Long Plain First Nation, 24-year-old Rebecca Contois from O-Chi-Chak-Ko-Sipi First Nation, and an unidentified woman whom community leaders have named Mashkode Bizhiki'ikwe.
She would have turned 42 on Wednesday.
Skibicki confessed to the killings, but his lawyers argued he was not criminally responsible due to a mental disorder. The trial wrapped up earlier this week, with the judge expected to deliver his decision next month.
On Saturday, people stood as they watched powwow participants make their grand entry in Camp Morgan. After that ceremony was done, they sang her happy birthday.
"We're just so full of love," said Melissa Robinson, one of Harris's cousins. "All these people here [have] come together for someone that they did not know, right? And they want to show that love to her, because she deserves that."
'I feel at peace'
Protestors set up the camp more than 500 days ago to demand the search of the Prairie Green landfill, where the remains of Harris and Myran are believed to be buried.
Plans for the search of the landfill moved ahead on Tuesday, as the province approved the environmental licence needed to perform it.
A "pilot search" meant to give workers a better understanding of the materials in the landfill will begin this month, followed by a targeted search for the remains which is expected to take five months.
Cambria Harris, Morgan's daughter, said the news still feels surreal.
"We're not gathered here for the wrong reasons anymore. We're gathered here because … there's that little beacon of hope," she said.
"I feel like I can finally breathe now. I feel like I don't have to shout so loud anymore. I feel like I don't have to be so angry. Yeah, I feel at peace."
Cameron and Charity West, who last year walked across Canada to raise awareness about missing and murdered Indigenous people, came all the way from Prince George, B.C. to attend the ceremony.
The couple said the victims' families and their community's effort to find closure sets up a precedent to be followed elsewhere in the country.
"They have been lighting a fire that needs to be lit," Charity said.
"The world is watching what's going on here in Winnipeg, and what the families have been doing and the leadership all coming together. And the unity that is showing and is creating across the country is undeniable."
Some people came from as far away as Florida to attend the powwow.
"It's absolutely amazing to see what the community can do and just how these sorts of tragedies can bring us together," Cambria Harris said. "It's really impacted Turtle Island."
With files from Gavin Axelrod