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David Hartleib treasures photos and memories of his daughter, Avontai, keeping them tucked away in a box.
“She was so beautiful,” David said, while going through photos of his daughter.
He remembers her as a loving, smart and artistic young woman who was a member of Sachigo Lake First Nation in Ontario.
“She was always such a happy child; there was not one day where she didn’t have smiles,” he said.
“She always loved her sisters, her siblings, she would always pick them up and was just in awe of them.”
After spending time in the child welfare system, David says his daughter, 18, wanted to play a role in the community, working to help other kids that are in a position she once found herself in.
But everything changed on Valentine’s Day.
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“I spoke with her the night before… On Friday the 13th. That evening, roughly about 6 or 7 o’clock, and that was the last time I heard her voice,” David said.
“And I didn’t want to believe it at first, because Avi is always so careful.”
Avontai Hartleib was found dead in a home on Young Street on Feb. 14. A 14-year-old boy has been charged with second-degree murder in her death.
“It’s very hard to explain, especially the whole emotional side of it, because it’s ongoing,” David said.
“There are some nights or some days, I just cry…. It just hurts the soul.”
More progress needed on MMIWG calls to justice
Avontai Hartleib’s story continues to be one of far too many Indigenous women and girls in Canada, advocates say.
“These acts of violence are happening to younger and younger and younger people. It’s alarming, it’s scary,” Heidi Spence, the director of Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak’s MMIWG liaison unit, told Global News.
It’s been seven years since the federal government released 231 calls to justice, aiming to work towards ending violence against Indigenous women, girls, and two-spirit individuals.
According to the federal government, 161 calls to justice are in progress, 57 are pending, and two are listed as complete.
Spence says not enough progress has been made, and she sees the effects of it in her work every day.
“To see the violence, the trafficking, loved ones going missing; to continue to see that and hear that every day, it shows in our work, not enough has been done,” Spence said.
“We don’t want to just hear promises, we need to see change happen.”
Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Grand Chief Kyra Wilson agrees.
“Only two in span of six, seven years… That’s just appalling, actually,” Grand Chief Wilson said.
“Families came forward and shared their stories and I would say there was probably families that were re-triggered and retraumatized in that process,” she added.
In a statement to Global News, a spokesperson for Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada says significant progress has been made.
“Through 171 initiatives led by 28 federal departments and agencies, we’ve made progress on 163 Calls for Justice,” the spokesperson wrote in the statement.
The spokesperson said the federal government has partnered with Indigenous organizations to expand culturally safe registration services, supported 33 projects through the Supporting Indigenous Women’s and 2SLGBTQI+ Organizations program, and invested in Indigenous-led shelters and transition homes.
“We recognize that we cannot end this national crisis through one plan, individual or institution alone. Real, lasting solutions require a collective commitment to learning, listening, and collaboration,” the statement read.
“To that end, as we look to the year ahead, we will work across all orders of government, institutions, organisations, and communities to continue making progress and build a stronger, safer future for Indigenous Women, Girls, and 2SLGBTQI+ People.”
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