Winnipeg vigil held at The Forks honours Tanya Nepinak
Community members gather to mark 3-year anniversary of Nepinak disappearance
Family and friends of Tanya Nepinak gathered at The Forks in Winnipeg Saturday to mark three years since the mother of two was last seen.
Police consider the death of the 31-year-old a homicide, even though her body has not been found.
Convicted serial killer Shawn Lamb was originally charged in connection with her death, but charges were stayed in November because of a lack of evidence.
Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Grand Chief Derek Nepinak is one of Tanya's cousins. He spoke to the challenges he’s faced coping with her death.
“It has been the most difficult part of my job,” said Nepinak. “My role as the grand chief is trying to balance the work that I have to do with the personal and the emotional feelings that I go through, recognizing that this is the second time in my lifetime that we have lost a family member on the streets of Winnipeg.”
Nepinak said he believes there will be more community-driven actions on the horizon to address Canada’s missing and murdered aboriginal women.
“It reverberates across family lines and right into the community and a lot of people are hurting,” said Nepinak.
“That's I think what's fuelling a lot of the energy that's now becoming much more prominent in the streets of Winnipeg, that feeling of hurt and that feeling of pain where people aren't able to close these things off for themselves.”
Nepinak plans to meet with RCMP this week to talk about the issue of missing and murdered First Nations women.
He also praised Winnipeg police for their leadership on the issue.