Red Dress awareness is the day for awareness of Missing and murdered indigenous women and girls and two spirit plus.
Loretta Henderson was at a media conference today at the Legislature, and she told the story of her daughter, Krista Kenny.
“She was 16 years old,” Henderson said. “She left her daughter that was almost seven months old. She was still breastfeeding. She was still going to school and she wanted to become a teacher.”
It was 13 years ago that Kenny went missing and was murdered, and the mother said she’s still missed by family. Henderson said there needs to be more awareness of this issue, particularly in the north.
Gwenda Yuzicappi, the mother of the late Amber Redman came forward to share her story. Redman was 19-years-old when she went missing. Two years and 10 months later, her remains were found.
“I stand here before you, letting you know that our families, our loved ones, our women, the backbone of our families, they are still going missing,” Yuzicappi said. “I tell you, my friends and my relatives that today, we need this to stop. I come here as a mother. I come here to speak for my daughter and I am my daughter’s voice. I will continue to be her voice.”
The Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations said the time has come to implement the national MMIWG Inquiry’s 231 Calls to Justice findings for safer communities for everybody.
“The emptiness of not knowing where your daughter is, I wouldn’t wish that on anyone at all,” Yuzicappi said.
Joyce Keepness, the grandmother of Tamara Keepness, also spoke. Tamara was a five year old Regina girl who went missing 16 years ago.
“It’s something you never forget,” Joyce said. “It stays with you. Every day there’s something that comes up that reminds you that this little person was never found… is she out there? Is she being used for sex trafficking? Why has she never been found?”
Joyce said the family was alone in searching for Tamara in the first days that she went missing.
“Something has to happen for cases like that, for little kids,” Joyce said.
