A walk in her shoes

By Lethbridge Herald on November 13, 2025.

Herald photo by Alexandra Noad Blood Tribe First Responders, organizations and community members march in heals in Standoff to bring awareness to domestic violence at the 12 annual Walk in Her Shoes event on Wednesday.

Alexandra Noad
Lethbridge Herald
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Blood Tribe First Responders along with other community members traded their everyday footwear for a dazzling pair of heels to bring awareness to domestic violence.

November is recognized as Family Violence Prevention Month across Alberta.

For the last 12 years, Kainai Women’s Wellness Lodge has hosted the Walk in Her Shoes event to bring awareness about how domestic violence is affecting the community.

Statistics Canada says in a 2018 report that forty-four per cent of Indigenous women have experienced intimate partner violence in their lifetime, which is almost double the number of non-Indigenous women.

According to the Blood Tribe Police, in the last 12 months they received 19 domestic violence reports, with 11 of the 19 files receiving criminal charges.

Shayla Day Rider, outreach worker for Kainai Women’s Wellness Lodge, says many people shy away from speaking about domestic violence due to shame, even though it’s very prevalent in the community and creating conversations will allow people to open up and reach out for the help they need.

“The more we speak about it it will be more normalized for women to say this is happening to them, this is happening in their home and for them to look and seek for resources and support to help them.”

Kainai Women’s Wellness Lodge is a 10-bed facility, which provides women seeking shelter a 21-day stay and offers assistance with getting back on their feet for up to six months.

They also provide programming to help women navigate and heal from their situations to move forward on the right foot.

Domestic violence is more than physical violence, it can also include financial abuse, psychological violence, and emotional violence.

Lucille First Rider, victim services manager for the Blood Tribe Police, says preventing domestic violence is a community responsibility.

“We have autological responsibilities in our community, every single one of us have those responsibilities…that’s all the people in the community, we have responsibilities for our children in the future and everything we do now affects our future.”

Day Rider, along with many other service workers on the reserve, believe the root of the violence on the reserve is due to intergenerational trauma amongst their people and is not a part of their traditional ways.

The Kainai Women’s Wellness Lodge is planning on building a new facility within the next two years to better serve their community and those seeking refuge from abuse.