We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Indigo Johnson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Indigo, thanks for joining us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

I have always been aware of the high number if missing persons in my home province of British Columbia. The Highway of Tears, stretching over 700km from Prince George to Prince Rupert, is well known for a devastating amount of missing women. The majority of those missing are indigenous. Our province as a whole has a staggering about of missing persons. I have followed a few stories over the years and my heart has aways been heavy for families dealing with ambiguous loss, while left to their own devices to advocate for their missing loved one.

When 20 year old Ryan Shtuka disappeared on February 17th, 2018 at Sun Peaks Resort, BC it hit close to home. I was attending university just 45 minutes away and I grew up in the North Thompson Valley. Ryan’s parents were relentless in their search and social media presence. Ryan’s missing poster and green ribbons filled my feed on the daily. Heather wrote beautifully heartbreaking blogs about her eldest and brought life to the missing person’s poster that plastered our newsfeeds. The most prominent of those posts was written on day three of their search. Heather wrote about Ryan’s love of dinosaurs as a child. Thus, a green long neck dinosaur became a symbol of Ryan’s story.

I joined search efforts and became friends with Ryan’s family. I also met an amazing group of women through Ryan’s Facebook page. I know consider all of them family.

Our final project in my Education Degree was to write a children’s book. I wrote The Kindness Quilt. Inspired by the community of strangers that came together in the Shtuka’s time of need, The Kindness Quilt follows the story of Little Dino. When Little Dino disappears, animals of all shapes and sizes come together to share acts of kindness. Together they build The Kindness Quilt which becomes a beacon of light to guide Little Dino home.

While written for children, The Kindness Quilt is a reminder to everyone to share what we have with those in need and above all to be kind to one another. My hope is that my book will not only bring awareness to Ryan’s story, but to all missing persons. I hope that Ryan’s story and The Kindness Quilt will encourage others to get involved in stories in their own communities. Joining search efforts, contributing to meal trains, sharing social media posts, it all makes a difference for families in the most difficult and challenging of times.

Indigo, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I have always been an avid reader. My love of reading began with Harry Potter as a child and through my adolescence you could rarely find me without a book in my hand. Writing was never something I pursued nor was it in my wheelhouse for that matter. I have however, always had an entrepreneurial side though. During my time in university I developed two successful business, one small tutoring business which lasted three years as well as an introductory equestrian riding program which became very successful in its four years of business.

When given the project to write a children’s book, it was just that, another school project. It developed into something so much more than just a project. I never planned to publish. I completed my degree in the midst of Covid and we were asked to record ourselves reading our books to share with the class. Seeing as the inspiration for my story had come from Ryan’s community I shared my recording on his page, thinking nothing other than sharing a project I had completed. What I didn’t expect was people asking to purchase my book. This is where the publishing journey began.

While the essence of the story will alway be about bringing awareness to Ryan’s story and the tragedy of so many missing persons across the globe, another essential part of the story is kindness. Many of the lessons in my classroom now revolves round kindness, all of my kids know – Ms., Johnson’s number one rule is ‘be kind’.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

For me the most rewarding aspect of this has been seeing people connect with my book. I published in February of 2023 and had a hardcopy in my hands at the beginning of friendship and anti bullying week at our school. Our principal gave me the opportunity to read my book to all 300 of our students. It was a wonderful experience to share the story with Kindergarteners all the way up to Grade Sevens. Part of this project was creating a school Kindness Quilt, each student designed a paper quilt square that represented kindness. These were put together to create a Kindness quilt. A year later, it still hangs at the front doors of our school. Students still stop to find their square, their friends square or look at the others that were created. It was an amazing project that created a beautiful school community piece.

When I attend markets and events with my book many people connect with both stories in my book – the story of community and kindness as well as Ryan’s story. Whether they know Ryan’s story or they have been personally elected by a missing persons case everyone, of all ages finds a way to connect to my book and it has been the most amazing experience of community and connection.

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

I am going to put a bit of a spin on this question since I don’t have a business partner… I do however have an incredible group of women who have walked this journey with me. They have talked me though the lows and frustrations and celebrated the highs of this project.

When I joined Ryan’s community I never expected to meet a group of women I now call family; my Unicorns. We are from all walks of life and all in different ages and stages of our lives. We came together because of a desire to help those in need and to support a family in the darkest of times. We each had our reasons for joining Ryan’s search, following his story and connecting with his family. A desire to help others, a connection to the stories Heather shared about her son, loss in our own circles – whatever brought us to Ryan’s story, also brought us to each other. Some of us live close to Sun Peaks and others live as far away as Saskatchewan (over 1300 kms) As cliche as it may sound, we found ourselves and each other along the way. We have walked each other through loss and grief, difficult periods of life, and celebrated joy, milestones and success in each others lives. If that is not the definition of friendship I don’t know what is.

I could not have completed this book without these amazing women as well as Scott and Heather’s blessing to write a book inspired by the tragic disappearance of their son. While I don’t have business partners, I would not be where I am without their unconditional love and support.

Contact Info:

• Website: booksbyindigo.com
• Instagram: @thekindnessquilt
• Facebook: The Kindness Quilt