BC Assembly of First Nations Regional Chief Terry Teegee says the death of 18-year-old Jessica Patrick is hitting close to home.
Teegee has a personal connection to the matter as Patrick is his cousin’s daughter.
Her remains were found near Smithers last weekend by family even though the RCMP have yet to confirm the discovery.
“The passing of Jessica who is a family member is just simply devastating not just for me but especially her mother and immediate family so this is just simply devastating,” said Teegee.
He says Indigenous women need to better understand the risks when hitchhiking along the Highway of Tears, even with its less than flattering history as the stretch of road is one of the main focuses of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls National Inquiry.
“Indigenous women need to understand that they’re vulnerable and is a crime, perhaps a crime of opportunity and quite simply they are being prayed upon and what more that needs to be done is the understanding that this must stop.”
“Hitchhiking is still a big risk, we need to send the information out and keep this at the forefront of our minds. Hitchhiking is still a high-risk activity.”
However, the question still remains, if most people in the Indigenous community across Northern BC know of the negative risks associated with hitchhiking along the Highway of Tears given the large volume of missing and murdered women over the past few decades, why do people still do it?
“Perhaps there are ways people believe it’s a lot safer, using social media they can get a ride out there trusting the person on the other end who is giving a false sense of security so I think that’s perhaps something that needs to be looked at more fully,” explains Teegee.
The Patricks, including Jessica’s mother, were sent off from the Shell Gas Station in Vanway, west of PG on Thursday, by dozens of people wearing red, singing traditional songs, and holding up signs in memory of the 18-year-old.
Before the family arrived in Smithers, they made a stop at the Lake Babine First Nation, where Jessica was a member.