Red River Girl

On the Sunday that Tina Fontaine's body was found in the Red River, her great-aunt and official guardian, Thelma Favel, had been spending the afternoon at her house on the outskirts of Sagkeeng First Nation reserve. Outside, under a wide sky, the birch and aspen were turning yellow in the late summer sun. Thelma remained inside, too anxious to enjoy the good weather. Six weeks earlier, her baby, as she liked to call Tina, had gone missing.