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Stephanie English is a bit tired, but she is still feeling strong as walks to bring awareness to the issues of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls and domestic violence.
She said the walk she has undertaken is about family.
English set out from Piikani Nation in southern Alberta yesterday, and she is walking 150 km to Calgary to join up with the Sisters in Spirit march at Olympic Plaza on Friday.
It’s personal. She buried her daughter two years ago. Joey English died in 2016, and while police say her death was a drug overdose and not a homicide, her body was dismembered and only parts of Joey’s remains were located. A man has served his sentence for indignity to her body after death, Stephanie told media.
Stephanie’s daughter Alison is also remembered with the walk. She committed suicide in 2015.
Stephanie describes the occurrences of missing and murdered women and violence against Indigenous women as epidemic.
“It’s a huge issue for me… A lot of my family really suffered tragic trauma and loss, grief and loss.” She said unconditional love will help people break through all of that.
It is the second time Stephanie is doing this walk in honour of her girls.