— Robyn Harper —
The fourth feather
Robyn had been in Thunder Bay for a week when she joined Skye, another girl from Keewaywin First Nation, and her friends in a binge-drinking party at Friendship Gardens, a park in the city. She drank too much, fueled by a need to feel less alone so far away from her family (184). Skye took her to the bus terminal, enduring racism from cars passing by (185), and called Cheyenne Linklater, Robyn's boarding parent, to come pick her up. Cheyenne drove Robyn home and left her on the floor. She died early the next morning.
Paramedics and fire crews were dispatched to Robyn's boarding home that morning, January 12, 2007, but "were at the scene for less than thirty minutes" (191). The coroner did not respond to her case within the 30 minutes suggested by the guidelines, nor did he contact her family. Three months later, when the toxicity report came back, it stated that Robyn Harper had died of acute ethanol toxicity, even though her blood alcohol concentration was lower than the average concentration needed to cause fatal alcohol intoxication. Her death was ruled an accident by the Thunder Bay Police.
Continue to learn about Reggie Bushie, the fifth feather