In the wake of the acquittal of the man who had been charged in connection with the death of Tina Fontaine, hundreds of people took part in a rally and walk to honour the 15-year-old in Winnipeg. Similar events are also planned in a number of Canadian cities, including Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa, Victoria, Montreal and Calgary.

Fontaine’s body was found in the Red River in August 2014 after she had been reported missing.

At that time, there was a wide outpouring of grief, and calls for an inquiry into missing and murdered woman and girls that was eventually answered by the federal government.

Her death also prompted the Manitoba government to end the use of hotels as a temporary placement for children in care.

Police later charged Raymond Cormier with second degree murder. On Thursday, a jury found him not guilty.

In reaction to the verdict, First Nations leaders have called for change.

Hundreds join in walk and rally

The Walk to Honour Tina Fontaine began at the Manitoba Law Courts, and made its way to the Oodena Circle at The Forks.

It was there that Thelma Favel, Fontaine’s caregiver and great-aunt, addressed supporters, thanking those who took part for their support.

“I can’t express how much gratitude I have for each and every one of you,” Favel told the crowd. “Please, I just want the violence to stop. Make it safe for younger children in this world.”

“Tina, I know, is here beside me right now and she’s looking up on you guys and appreciating everything you’re doing. My heart is just overflowing with love and gratitude for each and everyone one of you.”

Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak Grand Chief Sheila North thanked Fontaine’s family for letting the community grieve by their side.

“They could’ve totally went and did this in private and that would’ve been their complete right to do that,” said North. “But we’re honoured to be standing with them to carry the burden of Tina who didn’t get a chance to realize her dreams, who didn’t get a chance to be here with us to stand up for others.”

“Now she’s going to be a reminder that we have a lot more work to do. A lot more justice to be seen.” Indigenous leaders said there’s still a lot more work to be done nearly four years after her death.

“If Manitoba has to be ones to move this issue forward in a different way than we have to do it together. Let’s do it together,” said Sagkeeng First Nation Chief Derrick Henderson. “The CFS system has to change. We know that. We’ve got to change the system. It’s not appropriate for our people.”

“The conditions we live in… the housing conditions… the poverty in our communities – we still have communities that don’t even have running water.”

‘Every system failed her’

Fontaine came into contact with two police officers, Child and Family Services and was in hospital on the same day she was last seen alive.

Sandra Delaronde, co-chair of the Manitoba Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls coalition, said after Friday’s march if improvements are made for Indigenous families, Fontaine’s death will not have been in vain.

“I think there was a great deal of sadness and a great deal of anger, but I also think that people left with a sense of hope, with a sense of purpose to be part of change,” said Delaronde. “What we can say in Tina’s case, every system failed her.”

Delaronde said she wasn’t surprised by the outcome of the Cormier trial given the evidence in the case, but that doesn’t make coping with it any easier.

“We wanted and hoped for something different,” said Delaronde. “We’re in this continuum of justice that it wasn’t served in our eyes.”

Her death still weighs heavily on Favel.

“Everything I tried to do failed her,” Favel told the crowd. “We did what we could to bring justice for my baby girl.”

With files from CTV's Josh Crabb, Megan Benedictson and Sarah Plowman