Death sparks questions
Zoey Harnest was 26 years old when she passed away at a residence in Kahnawake at the end of last month. Courtesy Sherry Archambault
Sherry Archambault remembers her daughter Zoey Harnest as full of music.
“She loved music. All music, even classical music,” Archambault said. “She was a good, good soul.”
Harnest, who was from Chateauguay, loved trying new food and adored meeting new people, she was known to be funny, and above all, she loved her family. She was an identical twin, and as one of 10 children she grew up surrounded by siblings, sharing with them a type of love that she also shared with her two young daughters.
“Her kids were everything to her,” Archambault said. “Her passions were her children, her family, and she was a living, breathing person that would help anybody.”
Harnest, who was from Chateauguay and knew many in Kahnawake from her time at Howard S. Billings High School, was at a residence in the community on August 29, when a call for a woman in medical distress was made to the Peacekeepers. Harnest was transported to hospital outside of Kahnawake, where she was later pronounced dead. She was 26 years old.
According to the Peacekeepers, an investigation was opened into the event, but as of September 4, that investigation was transferred to the Surete du Quebec (SQ) Major Crimes Division. In a press release put out the same day, the Peacekeepers said that “this is in the spirit of transparency” and added that any further updates will come after the SQ completes its investigation.
“In this case, we’re giving it to them for them to do it because we’re unable to,” said Peacekeepers spokesperson Kyle Zachary.
Zachary said he was unable to share any further details about why the case was transferred to the SQ, or comment further on the details of what happened that night, due to the ongoing nature of the investigation.
“We don’t really have anything to do with the investigation anymore.”
Archambault said that she’s also been advised not to share too many details about the investigation while the SQ handles the file - but she wanted to speak with The Eastern Door because she’s seen many in the community take notice of her daughter’s passing.
Since news broke, many in the community have shared Harnest’s picture on social media and engaged with the hashtag #justiceforzoey, publicly demanding answers about what happened that night.
“The people from Kahnawake who have reached out to us in our inboxes have been so kind and welcoming and understanding. I know I think it’s split on how people feel, but the majority of people who have come forward with concerns say they want justice as well,” she said.
She said she has felt supported by Kahnawa’kehró:non who have shared her daughter’s story, but that she couldn’t share details about what community members may have shared.
Archambault said it’s important to her family that Harnest’s death not be used to sow division between residents in Chateauguay and Kahnawake, emphasising that she has felt supported by the community.
“I have great Native friends, I go to the community, and I don’t want there to be anything negative between Chateauguay people and Kahnawake people,” said Archambault. “I don’t want people in Kahnawake to think that I’m attacking them… I want people to know I just want answers, there’s great people there who care about Zoey who didn’t even know her.”
Harnest leaves behind her two daughters, ages two and four. In the past days, the family has had to attempt to explain what happened to the children.
“It’s so heart-wrenching for those little girls, you have no idea. They don’t know why their mom passed away, but they do know that she’s passed away,” Archambault said. “Every day they’re asking me ‘Where’s my mommy, can she see me, can she hear me?’ I’m trying to be stoic, but we want answers. It wouldn’t make it easier, but it would help us understand the situation.”
Archambault and her family have to hope that the investigation with the SQ will give answers but said that she’s going to fight for her daughter as the case progresses.
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“I’m a mom. When you’re a mom, or an aunt, or a grandparent, you just keep going,” she said. “I don’t even know how to stop my tears.”
A spokesperson for the SQ confirmed that they took over the case from the Peacekeepers, to “determine the causes and circumstances surrounding the death,” adding that an autopsy was performed but that any further details are currently not publicly available.
