THUNDER BAY -- Robert Barkman felt the spirit of Daniel Levac walking with him on a 1,000-kilometre journey from Sachigo Lake First Nation.
Members of the remote community began the journey on April 7 in memory of 20-year-old Levac, who was fatally stabbed outside of the city’s SilverCity movie theatre on Oct. 3, 2014, and arrived in Thunder Bay Monday afternoon.
The Sachigo Lake First Nation youth was a student at Dennis Franklin Cromarty High School and Barkman, who was an outreach work with the school, was with Levac when he died.
“I was holding him when he died. I witnessed the whole thing the night it happened,” he said.
Barkman had run into Levac two weeks before his death and the youth had told Barkman he wanted to do one of his walks from their home community to Thunder Bay.
Barkman had organized walks in the past to raise awareness of the need for a student living centre for DFC students.
That’s what spurred Barkman to make this year’s walk in memory of Levac and said the journey was a healing one and it motivated him to keep going on the 14-day trek.
Barkman and the eight other walkers made the journey to Thunder Bay through the winter road that connects Sachigo Lake to the highway at Pickle Lake.
They did it relay-style with each team member taking turns walking a kilometer or two before switching out with another walker.
Although it was cold when they left, the further south the group travelled, the warmer it was.
“The weather was great. It was always sunny. We had one whiteout,” said Barkman, adding they only had to contend with rain the last two days of the journey.
As a father to five children who attended DFC, Barkman knows the need for a living centre in the city.
“They were just scattered all over town. They didn’t like it,” he said, adding the school staff spends time looking for kids and safety is a concern.
“I feel like if they were all in one place, they would be looked after better. These young kids that come out, they’re 13, 14 years old. It’s their first time in the city. They don’t know much about the law…they could hang out with the wrong people or get themselves into trouble.”
A location and designs for the living centre were initially unveiled two years ago and it was initially expected to open this year, but the project has been stalled while the full funding has yet to be secured.
