Run Sister Run: Manitoba teen who ran 115km for MMIW focus of music video, Vogue article
Aidan Geary | CBC News | Posted: November 24, 2016 2:11 AM | Last Updated: November 24, 2016
Tracie Léost's Journey of Hope raised more than $6K for families of MMIW last summer
More than 100 kilometres and over a year later, a Manitoba teen's mission to bring attention to missing and murdered Indigenous women is getting recognized on a high-profile new platform.
Tracie Léost and her 115-kilometre run last summer are the subject of a new music video from American musician Cass McCombs and the subsequent articles in Vogue magazine and online music magazine Pitchfork.
The 18-year-old now lives in Saskatchewan studying social work at the University of Regina, but she was born and raised in Manitoba.
"Honestly, when I think about Vogue, I think about, like, Kylie Jenner, and really big name models and stuff like that. I didn't honestly know that Vogue had a culture section," Léost said on the phone from Regina.
"For Vogue to be a person to want to reach out for Indigenous issues, that meant a lot."
Captured 'exactly what running 115 kilometres was like'
Last summer, Léost ran from the Lake Manitoba community of Oak Point to The Forks in downtown Winnipeg to raise awareness for missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls in Canada. Along the way she raised more than $6,000 for the Families First Foundation, which helps families of victims.
- Manitoba teen completes 115-km run for missing, murdered indigenous women
- Manitoba teen runs 100 km for missing, murdered indigenous women
Léost got a message on social media from Rachael Cassells, the director of McCombs' video. It was Cassell's idea to make Léost's run the focus of the video.
"Obviously I was interested. It had nothing to do with me, but the fact of sharing my story and bringing more awareness to missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls," Léost said.
"We came in contact and then she flew to Winnipeg in the summer and we went back out to Highway 6 and ran down the highway and got all these cool shots, and she captured moments of the MMIW Journey of Hope and what exactly running 115 kilometres was like."
Léost said in the time since her run, she's dedicated herself to helping others and encouraging hope. Attention from the prominent magazine is another way to do that, she said, especially for advocates who are long used to being part of grassroots efforts.
"I feel like that'll touch a lot of Indigenous people as well, that it's not just about what small communities are doing, considering that Vogue, which is a pretty big deal, I'd like to say, reached out and wanted to share and help."
You can watch the music video online here.