'Walking With Our Sisters' exhibit comes to Saskatoon

Almost 2000 moccasin tops are on display in Saskatoon to honour the lives of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.

For Sheila Kennedy, a member of Little Pine First Nation, outside of North Battleford, Sask., the exhibit is especially poignant. She says she lost one of her granddaughter a year and a half ago.

"It feels like my heart is broken," Kennedy said. "But it feels like [all the missing and murdered women and girls] are all here with us and they're happy we're doing this."

Currently, there are 1,808 pairs of moccasin tops, also known as vamps, for missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. In addition, there are 118 pairs of child and baby vamps for the children who died in Indian Residential Schools.

The vamps were made by First Nations and non-First Nations people from all over Canada, the U.S. and even places like Australia, Bulgaria, Scotland, and Germany. 

Kennedy wants to do one more thing for her granddaughter.

"I want to place a pair of vamps in memory of my granddaughter. I'd like to have them ready before it moves to the next museum," Kennedy said.

Walking With Our Sisters is at Wanuskewin Heritage Park until November 21. Then the exhibit will move to Yellowknife, N.W.T.