ManitobaA year after the death of a woman whose body was found in a Winnipeg hotel, police are still trying to find out who she was — but for now, she has been given the spirit name Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe.Police still looking for clues to identify woman whose body was found at Manwin Hotel in August 2024Indigenous community members said Thursday a still-unidentified woman found dead last year at Winnipeg’s Marwin Hotel has been given the spirit name Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe, or Buffalo Woman. (Rudi Pawlychyn/CBC)WARNING: This story contains distressing detailsA year after the death of a woman whose body was found in a Winnipeg hotel, police are still trying to find out who she was — but for now, she has been given the spirit name Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe.The name, which translates to “Buffalo Woman” in English, was given to the woman at a Wednesday evening pipe ceremony.On Thursday, Giganawenimaanaanig — the province’s MMIWG2S+ implementation committee — hosted a news conference to announce the name, and to again ask for help to identify her.”We are here today as a kind of a celebration.… It’s a time of sadness as well, but there’s joy,” said Thelma Morrisseau, who delivered an opening prayer at Thursday’s news conference.”We have been able to take care of some really important matters for our relatives, those ones that have passed on into the spirit world.”The woman now known as Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe was found at the Manwin Hotel on Main Street on Aug. 10, 2024. (Rudi Pawlychyn/CBC)The woman now known as Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe was found dead on Aug. 10, 2024, at the Manwin Hotel building on Main Street. Police released a sketch of her in September last year in hopes of identifying her.Although foul play is not suspected in her death, police said no one at the hotel knew who she was or where she had come from.”[We’re] hoping that together, we can connect this woman with her loved one,” Winnipeg Police Service Sgt. Ashley Hartle said at Thursday’s news conference.A new sketch of the woman and additional details were shared on Thursday. She had two small tattoos, one reading “SN” on her right wrist and “SS” on the back of her right hand. She also had a metal plate on her left clavicle from a broken collarbone that would have been visible through her skin, according to a news release on ThursdayPolice released a new sketch of the woman on Thursday. (Zubina Ahmed/CBC)She’s described as Indigenous, around 25 to 40 years old, and about five feet seven inches tall, with a slender build. She had shoulder-length black hair and brown eyes.She had no remaining upper teeth, and had a papilloma above her left eyebrow, the release said.She was last seen wearing black pants with a bright yellow stripe, a grey Bench hoodie and black running shoes. She also had a blue-and-grey Roots brand carry-on suitcase and a tan purse.A name sharedThe spirit name Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe was previously used to identify Ashlee Shingoose. The woman from St. Theresa Point Anisininew Nation was the first victim of a Winnipeg serial killer who has also been convicted in the deaths of three other First Nations women.Shingoose, who was killed in March 2022, wasn’t identified until earlier this year, and was given the name Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe in late 2022 by Indigenous community members who didn’t want her referred to as an unknown victim. Ashlee Shingoose was previously given the name Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe, before police determined she was the first victim of a serial killer. (Tyson Koschik/CBC)”We said that can’t continue — she is loved, she is valued, she was someone’s daughter,” said Morrisseau, one of the people who gave Shingoose the name Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe.Morrisseau said that name comes from the teachings given to a grandmother from Roseau River Anishinabe First Nation during a fast around 30 years ago.The name was given to the grandmother by a buffalo spirit who visited her, said Morrisseau, and was meant to be given as a gift to Anishinaabe women “so that they could rise up … so they could walk in this creation with their head up, and know how beautiful they are.””I can’t think of anything more powerful or more beautiful than to be able to repeat her name again and again,” she said.’Small details can be a big thing’Indigenous leaders asked the community at large to talk about Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe and pray for her real name to be found. “We need your help,” Southern Chiefs’ Organization Grand Chief Jerry Daniels said Thursday. “If you know something, anything, do not be silent. Your voice could bring another of our relatives, one of our sisters, one of our mothers, one of our people home.”The death of Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe underscores the importance of making the safety of Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQ+ people a national priority, Daniels said. “Too many of our loved ones have been taken, and we cannot allow this to continue,” he said. “Our women deserve to be identified … and her family deserves closure.” Southern Chiefs’ Organization Grand Chief Jerry Daniels said the woman’s death underscores the importance of making the safety of Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQ+ people a national priority. (Rudi Pawlychyn/CBC)Amara LeClair, a family support co-ordinator at the Infinity Women Secretariat — a non-profit affiliated with the Manitoba Métis Federation that advocates for Métis women — said it is possible Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe’s family doesn’t know she is missing, since some missing people have become estranged from their relatives. Winnipeg police are asking anyone with information about Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe to contact the missing persons unit at 204-986-6250, or call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 204-786-8477 (TIPS).LeClair also said anyone who needs support to make a report can contact Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak, the Southern Chiefs’ Organization or the Infinity Women Secretariat.”Even small details can be a big thing,” she said. “You never know what you know that somebody else doesn’t.”Unidentified woman found dead at Winnipeg hotel given spirit nameAn unidentified Indigenous woman whose body was found at the Manwin Hotel on Main Street in Winnipeg just over a year ago has been given the spirit name Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe, or Buffalo Woman. It’s the same name given three years ago to Ashlee Shingoose, a previously unidentified victim of a now convicted serial killer.Crisis support is available for anyone affected by these reports and the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous people through a national 24-hour hotline at 1-844-413-6649. Health support services such as mental health counselling, community-based support and cultural services, and some travel costs to see elders and traditional healers are available through the government of Canada. Family members seeking information about a missing or murdered loved one can access Family Information Liaison Units.ABOUT THE AUTHORSantiago Arias Orozco is a journalist with CBC Manitoba currently based in Winnipeg. He previously worked for CBC Toronto and the Toronto Star. You can reach him at santiago.arias.orozco@cbc.ca.
Unidentified woman found dead last year in Winnipeg hotel to be known as Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe
