Pokemon Go players show 'no respect' at MMIW monument, says missing woman's brother

A monument honouring Manitoba's missing and murdered Indigenous women at The Forks is attracting Pokemon Go players for the wrong reasons, says the brother of a woman who has been missing for almost six years.

Kyle Kematch visits the site frequently and says he has run into players sitting, walking and even lying on the monument, which represents the grave site of his sister and other women and girls.

"That's like a headstone for a lot of us," Kematch told CBC News. "That's like walking on someone's grave for us that's what it feels like to me."

Kematch's sister, Amber Guiboche, disappeared in November 2010. She was 20 years old when she went missing.

The granite monument, which was unveiled in August 2014, is where Kematch and other families of missing and murdered Indigenous women go to remember their loved ones.

"My sister has been missing for six years. We can't give her a burial or nothing she's not even pronounced dead so that's where we go," he explained.

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Kematch said when he confronted a handful of Pokemon Go players on their phones, they all appeared unaware of what the monument represents and they agreed to move.

"They just said, 'We didn't know. We didn't know it was for,' and they stood up and they moved," he said, adding that most of the players he's seen were adults, not children.

"It just seemed like there was no respect at all."

Kematch said while there is a plaque at the site, explaining the statue's meaning, it sits low in the grass and is difficult to see.

When CBC News visited the monument Tuesday, dozens of people were circling the statue playing Pokemon Goand three people stopped to sit down on it. The game has three lures positioned nearby so there is a "higher opportunity" for people to catchPokemon charactersthere,Kristopher Park said.

"This weekend there were literally 50 to 100 people sitting all around it," Park said, admitting he sat on the monumentat one point. "It looks very beautiful but I was not sure what it was meant for."

When Park learned Tuesday it was a memorial he said he felt badly and would not be playing Pokemon Go there again.

"I know that myself nor a lot of people don't want to offend or be disrespectful to anyone who has lost a family member like that," he said. "We're just going to go to a different place at the Forks or maybe somewhere else in the city. There's lots of places to play."

Leigh Phillips didn't know what the monument stood for either and said he appreciates Kematch's concerns.

"If I was in their shoes I could see that being an issue but I would also look at it as...it's bringing attention to it and maybe bringing more of a light to the situation," he said.

A spokesperson for The Forks told CBC News they have not received any calls or complaints on the matter.

"People have been respectful of the space, and the players themselves seem to be monitoring each other's behaviour," the spokesperson said in an email.

Kematch said he will continue to speak to players he sees near the statue, and he hopes people are mindful of playing Pokemon Go at any memorial site.

"Those are meant as a symbol," he said. "A lot of us family members are hurting and I wouldn't wish that on anybody please, kindly respect the families."