Supporters validated after Morgan Harris's remains identified but say search delay traumatized family

An elder and an advocate who have stood behind the family of Morgan Harris in their push to search a Winnipeg-area landfill feel validated, but say the initial delays and rebuffs by government inflicted unnecessary harm.

"No one should ever have to go through what they went through … it's heartbreaking," Geraldine Shingoose, an Indigenous elder better know as Gramma Shingoose, told CBC News on Sunday.

"They were traumatized over and over again by people, all governments, telling them no." 

While it was long believed the remains of Harris, 39, and Myran, 26, had been left in a Winnipeg dumpster and taken to the Prairie Green landfill after they were murdered by a serial killer in May 2022 the Winnipeg police and Progressive Conservative provincial government argued against searching the landfill, citing feasibility and safety concerns.

A change in government in late 2023 led to excavation at the privately-run landfill starting in December 2024, and the remains of Harris and another yet to be identified person discovered at the end of February. 

"Nobody listened to them. But as a grandmother I listened to them. Grand Chief Cathy Merrick listened to them. Grand Chief Kyra Wilson listened to them," Shingoose said.

Just days after police first argued against a search, Shingoose said she was asked to help organize a ceremony at the landfill — one of many she would be a part of in the next couple of years. 

The elder has been beside the families through their fight, offering spiritual support and guidance, she said.

Shingoose also followed them along as they took their plea for the search, meeting after meeting, from city hall to the Manitoba Legislature and on to Parliament Hill.

"What was really heartbreaking for me … [was] just seeing when they were told no," she said. 

When they were faced with challenges, and even hatred, Shingoose said the families focused on bringing their loved ones back, finding their voices and developing the strong character they have today. 

"They taught me so much ... in all humility, being humble and kind," she said.

'The opposition was worth it'

Vivian Ketchum, an Anishinaabe community activist and grandmother, was also among those who supported the families, including talking to reporters and police on their behalf during rallies.

"Finally all our struggles and fights and all the ugliness, the opposition, was worth it, so worth it," Ketchum said. "The cold, the miseries, staying out in those camps … I'm willing to do it again."

The news of Harris's remains being discovered brought confirmation and a sense of relief to Ketchum, similar to what she said residential school survivors like herself felt when former Prime Minister Stephen Harper delivered a government apology for the Indian Residential School system.

"That's what I'm feeling for the families because I know we walked such a long and difficult road with them," she said.

"It's amazing what a daughter's tears can move a community to do to fight for justice."

With the discovery of Harris's remains also comes a learning opportunity for everyone, governments included, said Shingoose. 

"Indigenous women are important, they have daughters, they have cousins, they have sisters, they are grandmothers  … nobody should have stayed in that landfill that long," she said. 

"When families are going through this, stand with them, support them."

Shingoose is hoping Myran's remains can also be found soon, but the fight won't end there: "Let's pray for Buffalo Woman to come home," she said.

"We need to know who she is. She's got family out there and we need to find her as well."

An unidentified woman known as Mashkode Bizhiki'ikwe, or Buffalo Woman — a name given to her by the community —was also murdered by serial killer Jeremy Skibicki, as was 24-year-old Rebecca Contois from O-Chi-Chak-Ko-Sipi First Nation.

Contois' remains were found at the City of Winnipeg's Brady Road landfill in June 2022.

While there is anger and a feeling of injustice over the initial refusals to search Prairie Green, the discovery of Harris's remains is an opportunity to help her family heal, Shingoose said.

"I'm grateful that the families are asking for privacy. Let them absorb this, let them heal for a moment."