The 21st Annual Memorial Walk for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit People, and for the first time this year, also for brothers, brought hundreds to Prince Albert’s riverbank Wednesday morning in a powerful act of remembrance, resistance, and resilience.
Organized by the Prince Albert Grand Council Women’s Commission, the walk began with prayer, song, and ceremony at the Sisters in Spirit memorial and moved north along Central Avenue to Kinsmen Park. The event carried an expanded focus this year, recognizing that the crisis of violence touches not only Indigenous women but also men, boys, and 2SLGBTQ+ individuals.
“This is not just a tragedy; it is a systematic failure,” said the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) Vice Chief Fabian Head, addressing the crowd during the opening ceremony. “We walk to honour our sisters, our brothers, and our Two-Spirit and LGBTQ+ loved ones whose lives were taken by violence. These are not statistics. These are people who were deeply loved.”
As families gathered under a morning sun, the emotion in the air was unmistakable grief, remembrance, and a shared will to speak truth in public.
Anita Parenteau, Chair of the PAGC Women’s Commission, opened the event with a direct plea to anyone withholding information: “For every terrible situation we walk for today, someone knows something. However insignificant you think it is, report it.”
Parenteau also thanked her fellow commissioners, calling them “The Golden Girls” for their decades of dedication.
“We’ve been doing this walk for 21 years, and the cases grow and grow,” she said. “Let’s work together. We are stronger together.”
Chiefs and leaders from PAGC and FSIN joined the call for compassion and action.
“Each year more and more names are added to the list,” said Head. “Let this walk be more than remembrance. Let it be a call to action. We must hold systems accountable and build a future where safety and dignity are non-negotiable.”
Grand Chief Brian Hardlotte emphasized the need for ongoing cooperation with police and the city, while also recognizing the fear many families face when speaking out.
“Some people have information, but they’re scared. To those people we say, sagihitowin, compassion, Come out and speak.”
‘We sat in the field, because what else are we gonna do?’
Among the most heart-wrenching voices were those of grieving family members who came forward to share their personal stories.
Loretta King and her family spoke publicly for only the second time about the loss of 18-year-old Adyson King, who was found deceased earlier this year after going missing in Meadow Lake.
“My sister is very angry,” Loretta said. “She lost her only child. We don’t have answers to what led up to Adyson’s passing.”
he recounted how community members came together and found her niece in less than two hours. But their grief was compounded when they noticed signs of violence on Adyson’s body, marks she didn’t leave home with, despite official suggestions that she had simply crossed the river.
“We sat in the field,” she said. “Because what else are we gonna do?”
Adyson’s grandmother, Gwen, spoke last.
“Today is 105 days since she’s been gone,” she said through tears. “I write about her every day. People tell me to stop, but I won’t. I want answers. Justice was not served. I was not happy with what they said happened to her, because I know she didn’t cross that river. She was put there.”
Even in her pain, Gwen reminded others of the harsh truth many families carry: “We’re still the lucky ones. We know where she was. So many of our people don’t even have that. They can’t bury their loved ones. They can’t say goodbye.”
‘Our justice system isn’t fair to our women.’
Regina Bloxsome, the mother of Happy Charles, who went missing in 2017, spoke alongside her husband and granddaughter. Eight years have passed, but the pain remains fresh.
“Every day is a nightmare,” Regina said. “It doesn’t get any easier. Some days I have hope, and other days, I break.”
Her husband added, “We know something happened to her. We know somebody knows something. All we want is to bring her home.”
He emphasized the need for education around domestic violence and substance abuse, both of which, he said, factored into his daughter’s disappearance. “How do we prevent this? Our justice system isn’t ‘fair to our women.”
‘Why are you scaring us?’
Tracy, the grandmother of Darren, who was found deceased in September 2024, shared the story of the phone call that shattered her world.
“My son called me screaming. He said, ‘Mom, they found my boy this morning. He’s deceased,” she recalled. “I screamed, ‘No, my baby!’ I lost it.”
Darren, 22, had been working as a security guard and had plans to go back to school. “He had dreams,” Tracy said. “Now he’s gone, and his children, his grandchildren, and his future are gone too.”
She pleaded with young men in the community to take a stand against the violence. “Why are you killing our own people? Why don’t you walk around and protect our women?”
‘We must earn trust.’
Prince Albert Police Service Inspector Lisa Simonson addressed the crowd and acknowledged that law enforcement must do more to rebuild trust.
“Trust is not something we expect. It is something we work to earn through consistent, transparent, and respectful actions,” she said.
She pointed to the National Inquiry’s Calls to Justice as a guiding framework and urged anyone with information, no matter how small, to come forward.
“Information is powerful. It can bring someone home,” she said.
Walking in grief, hope, and purpose.
As the speeches ended, the crowd began their walk toward Kinsmen Park behind a drum group riding in the back of a truck. Volunteers distributed T-shirts and water. Police escorted the walkers safely across 15th Street and up Central Avenue.
“This walk is about more than mourning,” said one organizer. “It’s about action. It’s about refusing to let our people be forgotten.”
The final message came from the ground: from families, from community members, and from leaders who stood together not just in memory of the missing, but in fierce love for the living.
