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Protesters call for action on MMIWG as police confirm body found in eastern P.E.I. is Summer Kneebone

More than 20 people rallied in Charlottetown as part of Canada-wide protests calling for action on missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls Monday, the same day P.E.I. police confirmed they have found the body of Summer Kneebone.

Charlottetown rally part of protests held across the country

Shane Ross · CBC News ·
Sarah Jackson at rally.
Sarah Jackson of the Native Council of P.E.I. says parents of Indigenous girls always have to warn their daughters of 'stranger danger.' (Aaron Adetuyi/CBC)

More than 20 people rallied in Charlottetown as part of Canada-wide protests calling for action on missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls Monday, the same day P.E.I. police confirmed they found the body of Summer Kneebone.

Protesters are calling on the government to fund an immediate search of a landfill north of Winnipeg, where authorities believe the bodies of at least two murdered Indigenous women were dumped last year.

The rally in Charlottetown comes days after the body of an Indigenous woman from P.E.I. was found in a remote area of Kings County. Police confirmed Monday it was 27-year-old Kneebone, who had been missing since Aug. 7.

Sarah Jackson, who works for the Native Council of P.E.I., said the P.E.I. rally was held in solidarity with the families of missing women. 

"They've been thrown out like trash and we want to come together to let them know that their women aren't trash, they're important," Jackson said. "They're valued and the families are valued and important, and they need to know that they're not alone."

A protester in Charlottetown holds a poster in the shape of a red dress, which has become a symbol calling attention to missing or murdered Indigenous women and girls across Canada.
A protester in Charlottetown holds a poster in the shape of a red dress, which has become a symbol calling attention to missing or murdered Indigenous women and girls across Canada. (Laura Meader/CBC)

Last week, Charlottetown police arrested and charged two P.E.I. residents in connection with Kneebone's disappearance.

Jackson said the 27-year-old could have been anyone's daughter or granddaughter, and that she has been on the minds of the protesters.

P.E.I. isn't as innocent as people would like to think it is.— Sarah Jackson

"P.E.I. isn't as innocent as people would like to think it is," Jackson said.

Missing women protesters.
The rally was organized to raise awareness of two murdered Indigenous women authorities believe were dumped in a landfill north of Winnipeg. (Laura Meader/CBC)

"Now we have to promote awareness and stranger danger and, you know, where you're going to be safe. That's our reality. But it's at another level because of the fact that we're Indigenous and we're targeted."

With files from Laura Meader

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