Dawn Walker, an indigenous writer from the Okanese Cree Nation in Saskatchewan province, was to be taken to the border on Wednesday by US officials and handed over to Canadian police, more than a month after she first disappeared. In mid-July, her abandoned truck was found in a Saskatoon park, prompting fears that she and her son had drowned in the South Saskatchewan River. Their disappearance prompted an investigation by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Saskatoon police, as well as neighboring First Nations. A GoFundMe was set up to help locate her son, raising nearly 50,000 Canadian dollars (39,000 US dollars). But on August 5, Walker was arrested by Department of Homeland Security officials in the US state of Oregon, who accused her of stealing a friend’s identity to cross the border into the US and open a bank account. She was also accused of a “kidnapping scheme” to bring her seven-year-old son to the United States. He was returned to legal guardian in Canada on August 7th. Walker, formerly the executive director of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN), released a statement shortly after her arrest saying she “feared for my safety and my son’s” and “a failure by the Saskatchewan justice system. the family law system and the protection of children”. The father of her son denied any wrongdoing. The parents have been involved in a long custody battle and Walker’s son was due to be with his father on July 25. Saskatoon police said any previous allegations Walker made about the boy’s father were investigated, but no charges were laid. Walker disagreed, saying the police “only got interested when they thought I was dead.” “I’m fighting systems that consistently fail to protect me as an Indigenous woman and to protect non-Indigenous men.” Walker has long been an outspoken advocate for Indigenous women fleeing domestic abuse and has criticized the failure to address the ongoing crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls across the country. She ran unsuccessfully for federal office in the most recent national election and earlier this month was shortlisted for a prestigious Canadian literary award for her book The Prairie Chicken Dance Tour. “It is heartbreaking that Dawn may have felt she had no choice but to take the drastic action she did,” FSIN chief Bobby Cameron said in a statement following news of her arrest. “Let’s not forget that Dawn is an advocate for the rights and causes of First Nations women. He pioneered many [missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls] campaigns and rallies. “If there’s one thing we’ve learned… [it] is the urgency of these MMIWG issues and our role in protecting our most vulnerable members in need.” In an Oregon court Tuesday, a public defender said Walker was a victim of intimate partner abuse and had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. “Ms. Walker, most of the people in our courtroom come here having experienced some sort of trauma in their lives and this is especially true for the women who end up in our courtroom. And I’m sorry that you weren’t able to get the support you needed at home and that you ended up here in an Oregon courtroom,” District Court Judge Stacey Beckerman told Walker. “I hope you can see your son soon.” Walker waived her right to an extradition hearing that could last months. After investigating her finances, US prosecutors said in an affidavit that Walker had an “elaborate” plan that included kidnapping her son and faking their deaths. “The plan is that Canada can move forward with its charges and then we’ll just watch them unfold and, as necessary, deal with our charges in the future,” US Attorney Scott Kerin told the court. Walker faces US charges of felony identity theft and misdemeanor identity theft. Saskatoon police also charged her with mischief and parental abduction in violation of a custody order.
