Walking for Justice: Nikki Goodswimmer and Edmonton’s Valentine’s Day Memorial March

By Chevi Rabbi, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

(ANNews) – For Nikki Goodswimmer, the Valentine’s Day Memorial Walk in Edmonton is far more than an annual event — it is a deeply personal commitment to community, memory, and justice. Originally from Sturgeon Lake Nation, Nikki has navigated the challenges of growing up in care and has spent the past six years working on the front lines of Edmonton’s overlapping crises of homelessness, addiction, and gender-based violence.

“I am a former youth from care. But I work on the front lines as well right now. I’ve been on the front lines for six years now,” Nikki shares, grounding her advocacy in lived experience and community care.

Through her work with Hiregood, a social enterprise operated by Boyle Street Community Services, Nikki provides life-saving support in Edmonton’s downtown core.

“I worked alongside Hiregood, and we do overdose prevention and community cleanup,” she explains.

That work, however, has faced significant setbacks.

“I don’t know if anybody else knows about this, but within the last year – since around September or October – we had our contracts taken away due to budget cuts, alongside other harm reduction organizations. Even public hospitals were affected. We were taken off the front lines, and right now we’re just working our way up,” she says.

Despite these challenges, Nikki continues to show up – especially on February 14.

The Valentine’s Day Memorial Walk in Edmonton is part of a broader tradition of annual marches held every February 14, originally known as the Women’s Memorial March. The first march took place in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside in 1992, when family members and community allies gathered to honour Indigenous women who had been murdered or gone missing. What began as a grassroots act of mourning grew into an international movement observed in cities across Canada and the United States, calling attention to violence against Indigenous women, girls, and Two-Spirit people while demanding systemic change.

In Edmonton, the first local walk was organized in 2006 by the late Danielle Boudreau in memory of her sister and two friends who were missing and murdered Indigenous women. She launched the Edmonton chapter alongside April Eve Wiberg, Stephanie Harpe, and other women on the front lines of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples movement, creating a space for advocacy, ceremony, and remembrance.

After Danielle passed away, there was uncertainty about whether the walk would continue. Nikki saw the gap and stepped forward, understanding that the community needed someone willing to carry the work forward.

Mentored by April Eve Wiberg and Stephanie Harpe, Nikki continued building her voice as an advocate. Through that mentorship, she began speaking publicly about the violence impacting Indigenous women, girls, and Two-Spirit people.

“In 2019, I was really involved with the community and public speaking. That was actually my very first time speaking about gender-based violence and domestic violence, as we were commemorating women and Two-Spirit people in our LGBTQ community and addressing the violence that takes place in the streets,” she recalls.

Each year, the Valentine’s Day Memorial Walk offers families and community members a space to gather, grieve, and demand accountability.

“It’s commemorating women and Two-Spirit and our LGBTQ community and speaking about the violence that takes place in the streets,” Nikki emphasizes. “This year, there was a big turnout, with many people coming out to honour missing and murdered Indigenous women, Two-Spirit people, and boys.”

As participants walk together through Edmonton’s streets, they assert their presence and affirm that Indigenous lives matter. The strong turnout reflects an ongoing reality: Indigenous women, girls, and Two-Spirit people continue to face disproportionately high rates of violence.

For Nikki, the march is both remembrance and resistance – a promise that the names carried each February 14 will not be forgotten, and that the community will continue to demand justice.