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WINNIPEG—A 16-year-old First Nation girl who was left for dead after a brutal attack last month called for an inquiry Tuesday into the high number of murdered and missing Indigenous women across Canada.
Rinelle Harper spoke at the Assembly of First Nations special chiefs assembly which is being held in Winnipeg to elect a new national chief.
Harper has been recovering from a brutal attack she suffered shortly after midnight on Nov. 8 along a path by the Assiniboine River in Winnipeg. She was found by a passerby in the morning.
Winnipeg police said Harper was attacked by two males who attacked her a second time after she pulled herself out from the river. Police said she was left for dead.
The attack on Harper triggered a national response and her case has become a rallying cry for those pushing for an inquiry into the approximately 1,200 Indigenous women who have been murdered or disappeared since 1980.
Harper added her voice to calls for a national inquiry.
“As a survivor,” said Harper. “I respectfully call for a national inquiry into murdered and missing Indigenous women.”
Before she spoke, Manitoba regional Chief Bill Traverse gave her an eagle feather which Harper held while she spoke to the chiefs. A youth Dene drumming group sang an honour song for Harper.
Harper, from Garden Hill First Nation, said she wanted to speak about “ending violence against Indigenous women and girls.”
Harper said she was thankful to be able to continue on with her life.
“I am thankful I will be able to go back to school, to be with my family. Some people have visited with me, have shared their stories of healing,” said Harper. “I ask that everyone here remembers a few simple words: love, kindness, respect and forgiveness.”
Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak Grand Chief David Harper introduced Rinelle Harper and said she willed herself to stay alive.
“She crawled back again and got beat and she said no more, no more to these deaths, no more to this violence,” said Grand Chief Harper.
Rinelle Harper also spoke at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights on Monday evening.
Winnipeg was already reeling from the discovery of 15-year-old Tina Fontaine’s body which was pulled from the Red River on Aug. 17 when news surfaced of the attack on Harper.
Fontaine’s murder is still under investigation.
Winnipeg policed charged a 20-year-old man and a 17-year-old male youth in connection with the attack on Harper.
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