Mother and Activist Stephanie English - Photo: Courtesy Piikani Nation News

By Lara Fominoff

Mother walks from Piikani Nation to Calgary in honour of her two daughters

Oct 2, 2019 | 1:49 PM

Piikani Nation, AB – A Piikani mother and activist for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, embarked on her second annual two day walk to Calgary Wednesday morning (Oct. 2), to join the annual Sisters in Spirit march at Olympic Plaza on Friday.

Stephanie English lost her daughter Alison to suicide in 2015. One year later, her daughter Joey’s body was found dismembered and scattered across Calgary. In 2017 drug dealer Joshua Weise was sentenced to 18 months in jail, plus three years’ probation after pleading guilty to the charge of ‘indignity to a human body.’

According to an agreed statement of facts, Joey English died of a drug overdose while at Weise’s home. Her body was stored under a bed in the house for a day. It was then dismembered and placed in garbage bags and a suitcase and hidden in several locations near his home. Her body has still not been completely recovered.

English says she made the decision to make the trek to Calgary not only for her daughters, but to heal.

“It’s a new journey, healing is a process. You just got to get out there and start loving ourselves and loving our ways,” she explained.

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She will be stopping in Nanton Wednesday evening and will continue to Calgary Thursday morning.

English says the idea behind her walk and participation Oct.4 is to let the public know Indigenous people are still going missing.

“I made that commitment, this is what I am going to do, even though my girls went home early, this is what I need to do.”