Eileen Bjornson wants to honour her son, she wants to restore peace within the home where police found his body, and she wants other families to be spared the anguish she is now going through.
Fribjon Bjornson, 28, had been missing since January 12. The Vanderhoof man's disappearance was the subject of a police investigation and a search by his loved ones, which all proved unsuccessful until this past week when police found his body inside a vacant house in Fort St. James.
Police are not disclosing any of the clues that accompanied the body, or what they have learned since the discovery, but Eileen told The Citizen on Thursday that foul play is involved. That is why a march and healing ceremony is planned.
"It is a way to express that, as a community, we are not going to tolerate the violence that is happening," Eileen said.
"It is a spiritual way to set his spirit free and cleanse the house he was found in. It is a way of showing strength, as a group, that violence is not acceptable, and it has happened too often. We have to speak with one voice as a community. This is a way to stand together and also a way to heal."
The house where he was found had been left vacant for a prolonged length of time.
It had been boarded up. Police went there after receiving a tip
directing them to Bjornson's body.
"I remembered I had actually been there because I went door to door in Fort St. James when they found his truck in that area," Eileen said.
"I thought, maybe if someone didn't tell the police, I could get them to tell me. Maybe I could appeal to the good in them. I trusted in that and it was the good in someone that came out, when there was a public tip."
The walk will take place Feb. 25 starting at noon. The public is invited to assemble at Kwah Hall with the Bjornson family (he was father to two children age five and three), then walk the short distance to the vacant house for a smudging and drumming ceremony, then back to the hall for more fellowship.
