Walk honours woman who was fatally stabbed in Calgary 14 years ago

Calgarians and Blood Tribe members laced up their shoes to walk in honour of an Indigenous woman killed in the city 14 years ago.

Jackie Crazy Bull, 43, was fatally stabbed in a random attack near 17 Avenue and 11 Street S.W. on July 11, 2007. No one has been charged with her death.

“That day, there were five people that were stabbed, including Jackie, and she was the only one that passed away from her injuries,” said Sandra Manyfeathers, Crazy Bull’s sister and the walk organizer.

View image in full screen

The annual Justice for Jackie Walk is held to honour Crazy Bull and push for answers about her death as well as to pay tribute to others missing and murdered.

“When we first started doing the walk, what we were really doing was giving dignity to a woman who we knew and loved and who was part of our family, and we wanted to bring dignity to her and show the public that she was loved and she belonged in a family,” Manyfeathers explained.

“She had children, and she was really important to members of our family.”

View image in full screen

But 14 years have passed, Manyfeathers said, and the walk’s purpose has shifted.

“It really has changed to wanting to call out to people that know something. There are people that know what happened that day on July 11, 2007. We’re calling on those people to come forward and tell us, tell the police what happened,” she said.

“How could you live 14 years knowing that you have murdered somebody? Or if somebody has disclosed this information to you, how can you hold onto that information knowing the horrendous difficulty that my family has had to undergo as a result of Jackie’s death?

“It’s just really difficult to have to do this every year, knowing that there is information that could potentially lead to charges being laid.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "It's just really difficult to have to do this every year, knowing that there is information that could potentially lead to charges being laid."

Initially, investigators communicated regularly with the family. Now, the family doesn’t know where the case stands, Manyfeathers said.

Global News reached out to police about the investigation’s status and will update this story if we receive a response.

‘Do the right thing’

The night of her death, Crazy Bull was helping the perpetrators with directions, Manyfeathers said.

“Jackie was the kind of person that would help, and she taught me to be that kind of a person.”

View image in full screen

The family is not going to give up in the fight for justice. Manyfeathers has a message to the people responsible for Crazy Bull’s death.

“You cowardly murdered my sister in cold blood that day… and so I’m calling upon you to do the right thing… It’s been 14 years, and you’ve actually really done a lot of damage to her children,” she said.

“When they were growing up, they really had a difficult life without their mother, and it would be honourable for you to now come forward and so that we can bring closure to my sister’s tragic murder.”