Family, friends of Sask. woman accused of faking death and fleeing to U.S. say community will support her

Household and mates of a Saskatchewan Indigenous lady arrested in america say she may have her neighborhood’s assist upon her return to Canada.

Daybreak Walker, 48, was to be handed to Canadian authorities Wednesday after spending two weeks in U.S. federal custody.

“It is the very best information ever actually,” mentioned Kathy Walker, Daybreak’s youthful sister.

“It is really a solution to our prayers and hopes. The battle’s not over, however simply to know she’s not sitting in a U.S. jail is fantastic information.”

Police allege the Saskatoon lady faked her loss of life and that of her son, prompting a two-week lacking individuals investigation earlier than the pair had been present in Oregon Metropolis, Ore., earlier this month.

At her detention listening to Tuesday in Oregon, U.S. federal public defender Megha Desai advised court docket that Walker is a sufferer of home abuse and has been recognized with post-traumatic stress dysfunction.

The daddy of Walker’s son has advised Saskatoon radio station CKOM that he would by no means damage her or the boy. Police within the metropolis have mentioned any earlier allegations made by Walker had been investigated, however no prices had been laid.

Eleanore Sunchild, a Saskatchewan lawyer and Walker’s good friend, mentioned her case is essential as a result of it highlights the challenges Indigenous girls face when accessing the justice system.

This has additionally been documented within the Nationwide Inquiry into Lacking and Murdered Indigenous Girls and Women Report and its calls to justice, Sunchild mentioned.

The report says the Canadian authorized system fails to adequately reply to intimate-partner crime in opposition to Indigenous girls and ladies.

“There are very actual and systemic points that this case raises that continues to name for motion,” Sunchild mentioned Wednesday from Saskatoon.

Walker is a member of Okanese First Nation, which is a part of Treaty 4 in southern Saskatchewan. She can be a celebrated Indigenous creator and had served as chief government officer for the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations for 10 years.

Sunchild mentioned Walker’s story has resonated with different girls throughout Canada who’ve their very own tales of abuse, and they’re going to proceed to assist Walker as her case makes its manner via the courts.

“I am so glad that folks had been capable of see Daybreak’s standpoint,” Sunchild mentioned. “It is actually nice to see folks had been supporting her and will relate to her story.”

Kathy Walker mentioned her sister’s story is just not distinctive, and girls throughout Canada have been reaching out to her household.

“There’s so many moms who’ve shared their tales … who’ve mentioned they completely perceive what Daybreak has gone via,” Kathy Walker mentioned. “She felt that was the one factor she might do to guard herself and her son.”

Walker, who nonetheless has a warrant for her arrest in Canada, must face prison prices in Saskatoon as soon as she is returned to regulation enforcement. Her Canadian prices embrace public mischief and little one abduction in contravention to a custody order, whereas her two U.S. prices relate to id fraud.

Regardless of the authorized challenges forward, having Walker again in Saskatchewan gives her household some aid.

“Not solely does she have her household and mates supporting her, she additionally has a bigger neighborhood of advocates and individuals who additionally share her story who’re going to be there for her,” Kathy Walker mentioned.