THUNDER BAY – The death of Sandra Johnson continues to weigh heavy on her family even after 25 years.
On Feb. 13, 1992, Johnson’s body was found on the frozen Neebing-McIntrye floodway by a person walking by and to this day, the person responsible hasn’t been identified.
Nine years ago, Sharon Johnson created the Valentine’s Day Memorial Walk to honour her sister and the families who have lost loved ones.
Johnson said the walk brings together dozens of families and friends of missing and murdered Indigenous women to acknowledge their loss and to support them in their grief.
“I think it’s important to keep doing this because there’s family members out there that I know are dealing with unresolved grief,” Johnson said.
“Unresolved grief turns into other things, you know, like drug addictions and there’s people that don’t know how deal with, or how to find that feeling or to reach out and get help.”
Johnson said for some family members, walking helps them to cope with negative feelings they are dealing with.
Each year, as Johnson prepares for another Valentine’s Day Memorial Walk, she finds courage by thinking about her mother who has lost so many lives in her lifetime.
“To lose her youngest child … I can’t imagine what that must be like for a mother, so it’s kind of who I think about when we are planning another walk.”
Johnson added for the family members who couldn’t be there Tuesday, she urges them to keep looking forward because every day is a new day.
Nishnawbe Aski Nation deputy grand chief Anna Betty Achneepineskum said thousands have been lost and there’s so many who should be on the list.
“You know, we need to build awareness for this issue and we need to ensure that we prevent these types of deaths from happening in our country,” Achneepineskum said.
Achneepineskum added that it’s encouraging to see dozens of community members take part in raising awareness, which will help prevent these types of tragic deaths from happening.
“We need to have people from our community in Thunder Bay and all other places in Canada to be part of this…to talk about it and to do their part in advocating and preventing.”
More than 60 people joined together and walked from City Hall to the Heritage Building on the CLE grounds Tuesday afternoon in support of those who have lost their lives.
