YORKTON, sask. — “Walk a mile in my moccasins.” That’s the message Janice Straightnose hopes people will consider as she and her family make the journey from Kamsack to Regina seeking answers in the death of her brother, Gerald Straightnose, who died in RCMP custody more than a year ago.
The Justice Walk, which passed through Yorkton and Melville on Tuesday, began in Kamsack on Monday and is set to end at RCMP headquarters in Regina, where family members plan to meet with police officials and push for changes they say are needed to prevent future deaths in custody.
Family members say Gerald Straightnose died after turning himself in to police in June 2025 to deal with outstanding charges. They say they have received few answers about the circumstances surrounding his death.
Among those taking part in the journey is his mother, 80-year-old Seraphine Straightnose, who travels ahead of the walkers in a vehicle while family members continue on foot.
“It’s been 14 months; my son’s been gone, and I want answers,” said Straightnose, who joined the walk alongside her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
“This is why we’re doing this walking, to try and find out what happened to him. We asked him to give himself up, not to go and die in custody. That’s not what I wanted.”
Straightnose said the family’s grief remains as raw as ever.
“I still hurt today,” she said.
Gerald’s aunt, Thelma Severight, said the family continues to struggle with unanswered questions.
“We’re walking for answers,” Severight said. “We were told he had a heart attack, but we want to know why nobody helped him.”
Severight alleged her nephew repeatedly called for assistance while in custody.
“He wanted a blanket, he wanted food and he wanted medical help,” she said. “The hospital and ambulance services were only blocks away.”
The family says one of its greatest losses was being denied the chance to be with him in his final moments.
“What was taken away from us was the privilege of sitting around him and holding his hand as he took his last breath,” Severight said. “We didn’t get the opportunity to pray him into heaven.”
Janice Straightnose said the walk is about more than her brother’s death.
“We want changes in RCMP detachments so this doesn’t happen to anybody else,” she said.
She said previous rallies helped draw attention to the family’s concerns and led to conversations with senior RCMP officials.
“We said we’d keep going until somebody heard us,” she said.
Straightnose said she expects to meet with RCMP representatives in Regina. While she does not anticipate receiving answers about her brother’s death during those meetings, she hopes they will address broader issues of fairness and accountability.
“I want to see equality. I want people to be treated fairly,” she said.
The march has also attracted support from Regina advocate Sherri Gordon, founder of the Integrative Justice Collective Canada. Gordon said she has documented deaths in provincial jails, federal institutions and police custody through annual Prisoners’ Justice Day memorial events.
“This shouldn’t be something people only hear about locally,” Gordon said. “It should be a national conversation.”
Gordon said families often face significant barriers when seeking information after a loved one dies in custody.
“People don’t go to jail to die,” she said. “They’re supposed to be in the care of the system.”
As the walkers continue toward Regina, Janice Straightnose said she hopes people will try to understand what families like hers are experiencing.
“Walk a mile in my moccasins,” she said. “Maybe if you walked in our shoes and saw through our eyes how we’re treated, people would feel different.”
The family plans to meet with RCMP officials at the conclusion of their walk and continue its call for answers surrounding Gerald Straightnose’s death.
