Museum backs landfill search for women’s remains

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 15/08/2023 (797 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Canadian Museum for Human Rights has endorsed calls to search for the remains of three slain Indigenous women who are believed to be buried in a private landfill near Winnipeg.

“It is a universal human value that the remains of the dead should be treated with dignity and their families accorded respect,” wrote Isha Khan, chief executive officer of the museum, in a letter dated Aug. 9.

“Much has been said about the financial and safety implications of a search, issues on which we defer to others. However, given our role, we must affirm the human rights imperative to act.”

On Tuesday, the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs — the recipient of the two-page letter — touted the museum’s “unequivocal support” to bring home the remains of Marcedes Myran, Morgan Harris, and another suspected victim whose identity is unknown but Indigenous elders have named Buffalo Woman.

Family members and advocates for missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people set-up Camp Marcedes outside the museum last month after city officials obtained an injunction to dismantle Camp Morgan, a blockade outside the Brady Road landfill south of Winnipeg.

Tensions have remained high since Premier Heather Stefanson announced on July 5 that her government would not support a costly search of Prairie Green landfill, a private landfill north of Winnipeg, due to worker safety concerns.

Grand Chief Cathy Merrick said the repercussions of inaction “cannot be underestimated.”

“Canada must address the systemic injustices stemming from colonization, racism, discrimination, and misogyny,” Merrick said in a news release issued Tuesday.

Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter

Dan Lett | Not for Attribution

Tuesdays

A weekly look at politics close to home and around the world.

Sign up for Dan Lett | Not for Attribution

Sign Up

I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

In her letter, Khan noted Article 12 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples states that First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples have a right to access the remains of their family and community members.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca

Maggie Macintosh
Education reporter

Maggie Macintosh reports on education for the Free Press. Originally from Hamilton, Ont., she first reported for the Free Press in 2017. Read more about Maggie.

Funding for the Free Press education reporter comes from the Government of Canada through the Local Journalism Initiative.

Every piece of reporting Maggie produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.