Supporters of Tina Fontaine held a walk in Winnipeg on Friday to honour the girl, after the man accused of killing her was found not guilty.
The walk called “Love For Tina” began at 10:30 a.m. the Provincial Law Courts Building at 408 York Avenue and culminated at the Oodena Circle at the Forks.
VIEW: photos taken as the crowds moved through Winnipeg and gathered at The Forks
“All Canadians are invited to this walk today, all members of our community because the situation that put Tina into this is on all of us,” walk co-organizer Niigaan Sinclair said.
“It will take every single one of us to come up with a solution.”
“The family has asked for us in Winnipeg to have a moment of remembrance and so we’ll be having a moment of silence that will be led by grandmothers, the entire walk, in fact, will be led by grandmothers,” Sinclair said.
On Feb.22, the jury found Raymond Cormier not guilty of second-degree murder in the death of Tina Fontaine.
READ MORE: Raymond Cormier found not guilty in death of Tina Fontaine
“Tina reminds us that we have a situation of violence in this country involving Indigenous peoples, particularly Indigenous women and children,” Sinclair said.
“This walk today is to remind ourselves of the remarkable young woman and her life and what she has not only meant to all of us but how we can produce change and action.”
READ MORE: Emotional, tearful day of closing arguments at Raymond Cormier trial
Organizers of “Love for Tina” invited the community to show their love for Fontaine by wearing red ribbons and and bringing drums.
“The most remarkable thing is that Tina’s family is so distraught and hurt and upset but yet remarkably are invested in peace… we need to learn from that and we need to use that as a model for all of us,” Sinclair said.
Other walks are also being planned in provinces across Canada over the weekend.