Mother starts ATV helmet drive for First Nations in honour of daughter

An Anishinaabe mother is starting a helmet safety campaign and hopes to gather helmets to give to First Nations in Manitoba, after her daughter died in an ATV accident in September.

Marilyn Courchene, from Sagkeeng First Nation, 100 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg, said she wants to try and get at least 1,000 helmets in honour of her daughter, "to make sure that the kids have proper safety equipment."

On Sept. 1, Courchene's daughter Katie Pchajek died after she crashed the four-wheeler ATV she was driving in Sagkeeng.

"My daughter left here without her helmet and went on the quad and then avoided a dog, and that's how she died," said Courchene.

Pchajek was a mother of three and Courchene describes her as someone who loved to cook, and was a community-minded helper with a bubbly personality.

"She always looked for the positive in life. She was always helpful," said Courchene. 

"If there were other people that lost family members, she'd always help [by making] a pot of soup."

Courchene said she personally owns three helmets, which were kept at her home.

There have been 28 deaths and 116 serious injuries from ATV/UTV collisions in Manitoba since 2017, according to the RCMP.

About 30 per cent of ATV/UTV fatalities in Manitoba weren't wearing a helmet, which is on par with the national average.

'Helmets do save lives'

Courchene is trying to bring different groups together to create change in her community and is still in the early stages of gathering support for her campaign.

So far she has reached out to the chief and council of Sagkeeng First Nation, the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) and the nearby Powerview RCMP detachment.

"We want to have a community approach to it, where we know that chief and council and the community are behind this endeavour," said Staff Sgt. Jeff Monkman, Powerview RCMP detachment commander.

Monkman said he has had conversations about what kind of support he will be able to offer Courchene, and said the RCMP have been getting requests from rural municipalities and First Nations to ramp up safety enforcement and education for helmet use and off-road vehicles.

"We support her in that we don't want to see anything happen to anybody," said Monkman.

"Helmets do save lives."

Courchene said she is going to try and contact off-road vehicle and helmet manufacturers for donations and has AMC Grand Chief Arlen Dumas as one of her early supporters.

"We will make a contribution," said Dumas. 

"In my own community, last time I was home . . . It was almost like a clown car, there was so many kids on a quad.

"We need to remind people that we have to be safe on these things. So the more awareness we can bring forward to help our communities, the better." 

Courchene is calling her campaign Katie's Wear your Helmet Day Legacy and said she plans on hosting a fundraiser concert next summer.