Family calls for justice after First Nations mother victim of hit-and-run

The household of a young pistillate from Buffalo Point First Nation is calling for justness aft the parent of 2 was deed by a achromatic van and near to dice connected a Winnipeg road.

At slightest 20 people gathered extracurricular Winnipeg's Health Sciences Centre Saturday afternoon, drumming and chanting to request accountability for 25-year-old Margaret Cobiness Jr., oregon Macey to her household and friends. 

Ernest Cobiness Sr., Macey's father, said his daughter was walking conscionable southbound of Osborne Village connected Friday night when 2 men driving a achromatic van began pursuing her. 

Macey told her father the conveyance pulled up to her, past drove toward her and knocked her to the crushed earlier moving her implicit and driving away. 

"She's my youngest one. She's ever been my small girl," Ernest Cobiness said. "She was underneath the car and she thought she was gonna die." 
 
The household believes Macey was the unfortunate of an attempted kidnapping.

A spokesperson for Winnipeg Police said a 25-year-old pedestrian was taken to infirmary aft officers were called to the 400 artifact of Mulvey Avenue East, conscionable southbound of Osborne Station, astatine astir 12:30 a.m. connected Saturday for reports of a collision. 

Ernest Cobiness Sr. said his girl was successful captious condition, and the household was expecting her to acquisition country connected Saturday evening aft the deed and tally near her with respective breached bones, including successful her pelvis, enarthrosis and ribs. 

"It's hard to spot my small miss laying determination similar that successful symptom and crying," helium said. "[But] she wanted to marque definite that her dependable was heard … her communicative was heard."

"The worst happening we tin bash is beryllium soundless astir worldly similar this," helium said, arguing that not speaking up is staying complacent with crimes against Indigenous women.

Members of Morgan's Warriors were among those gathered extracurricular the Health Sciences Centre connected Saturday afternoon. The outreach group, named for Morgan Harris and led by members of her household and community, supports women and works to guarantee they're not preyed upon. 

A study from Statistics Canada shows Indigenous women and girls experienced unit rates higher than their non-Indigenous counterparts. Between 2009 and 2021, 490 of Canada's homicide victims were Indigenous women and girls.

Macey's deed and tally comes weeks aft 1 of her friends was fatally tally implicit successful a akin incident, Ernest Cobiness Sr. said.

"She thought she was going to beryllium the adjacent one," helium said. 

'I privation that was me'

Macey has been surviving successful Winnipeg, but she and her household are from Buffalo Point First Nation, a assemblage beside the Manitoba-U.S. border about 170 kilometres southeast of Winnipeg. 

The parent of 2 was described by her household arsenic a staunch protagonist of women's rights.

"I ne'er thought my small sister oregon anybody successful my household would get wounded similar that," said Kari Cobiness, Macey's older sister, adding she believed the incident was an attempting kidnapping.

"Maybe she was gonna beryllium the adjacent Indigenous miss successful the landfill," she said. 

Jerry Daniels, expansive main of the Southern Chiefs' Organization — which represents 32 First Nations successful confederate Manitoba — said determination person been aggregate reports implicit societal media of young First Nations women being chased and targeted by men successful Winnipeg.

While addressing Macey's lawsuit connected a Facebook post, SCO said it is "clear determination are ongoing threats against our citizens," portion adding urgent enactment is needed to code MMIWG2S cases, which has been referred to by the enactment arsenic a nationalist emergency.

The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs referred to Saturday's events connected societal media arsenic a "horrifying attack," portion demanding "real steps" successful addressing the unit faced by First Nation women, girls and two-spirit people. 

"Enough is enough. Our women merit to beryllium safe," the societal media station said.

The household received an incidental fig from Winnipeg police, who told CBC that they proceed to analyse the crash. 

But Ernest Cobiness Sr. said his girl has small religion the constabulary strategy volition bring justness to her case. 

"Our radical person ever been and felt that way, that our women and our radical don't mean thing to the justness strategy oregon tribunal strategy … I deliberation that's wherefore a batch of radical deliberation they tin get distant with [what] they're doing," helium said. 

For him, it is important to spot his assemblage and supporters, including different men, amusement up, dispersed consciousness and basal unneurotic for justness for women. 

"I'm thankful that she's live and she's susceptible of going to beryllium with america … immoderate different families are not that fortunate and I could ne'er recognize however they felt," helium said. 

Macey's parent Margaret Cobiness, who was besides astatine Saturday's rally, said cases similar her daughter's hap each excessively often successful Winnipeg. And portion Macey survived, she said determination was a accidental she could person ne'er travel backmost location aft Saturday.

"I americium truthful sick and bushed of the attraction we get present arsenic Indigenous radical due to the fact that it has been going connected for truthful long, excessively long," she said done tears. "They expect america to locomotion distant from this, I would ne'er locomotion distant from this."

"I anticipation this ne'er happens to anybody, not my kids, not anybody … I privation that was maine successful there," Margaret Cobiness said.