500 native women who have disappeared or been murdered in the last 20 years
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MO MO - Emily Strite, 33, Imperial, last seen 2 Apr 2024, rptd 20 Apr 2024
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They are the keepers of the flame for more than 500 missing and murdered aboriginal women in Canada. And their crusade has become--for the moment, anyway--the whole country's crusade.
From a cramped, west-end Ottawa office decorated with dream catchers and infused with hope, the place where a great divide is bridged between hundreds of grieving communities across Canada and the powers that be on Parliament Hill, a small team of researchers and outreach workers is trying hard not to say: "We told you so."
But the people behind Sisters in Spirit, a five-year, federally funded initiative launched in 2005 by the Native Women's Association of Canada, have been saying all along what most Canadians are just now waking up to after a recent media blitz about murdered and missing women in Western Canada.
They've been telling Canadians that the dead and disappeared are almost everywhere across the country; that there is no single serial killer at work, except apathy; that the tragedy runs deep into the history of aboriginal dispossession and discrimination; that jurisdictional tangles and cultural blind spots help explain why so many killings and so many vanished women have been relegated to the cold-case file.
http://www.calgaryherald.com/Sisters+lead+hunt+native+justice/2142532/story.html
From a cramped, west-end Ottawa office decorated with dream catchers and infused with hope, the place where a great divide is bridged between hundreds of grieving communities across Canada and the powers that be on Parliament Hill, a small team of researchers and outreach workers is trying hard not to say: "We told you so."
But the people behind Sisters in Spirit, a five-year, federally funded initiative launched in 2005 by the Native Women's Association of Canada, have been saying all along what most Canadians are just now waking up to after a recent media blitz about murdered and missing women in Western Canada.
They've been telling Canadians that the dead and disappeared are almost everywhere across the country; that there is no single serial killer at work, except apathy; that the tragedy runs deep into the history of aboriginal dispossession and discrimination; that jurisdictional tangles and cultural blind spots help explain why so many killings and so many vanished women have been relegated to the cold-case file.
http://www.calgaryherald.com/Sisters+lead+hunt+native+justice/2142532/story.html
Some of the hundreds who marched through Vancouver's Downtown Eastside on Valentine's Day to remember the city's missing and murdered women say they're still concerned a forthcoming public inquiry is solely focused on the high-profile case of serial killer Robert Pickton.
Carrying baskets of red and yellow roses, giant photo collages of lost loved ones and hand-printed signs warning about the "danger" of certain men, the large crowd walked through drenching rain after a memorial service in a Downtown Eastside community centre.
It was the 20th year for the annual march, which started as residents of the blighted neighbourhood tried desperately to bring attention to women -- many aboriginal sex workers -- who were disappearing in growing numbers.
Just before Monday's grim ceremony, advocates spoke out about what they say are inadequacies with the provincial inquiry, which is expected to get under way later this year. Among their concerns were a perceived lack of consultation with the victims' families and aboriginal groups, as well as the appointment of just a single commissioner to oversee the hearings.
"We're talking about, frankly, the most pressing social issue of our time," Angela MacDougall, one of several march organizers, told a news conference.
"We should all be extremely concerned by this lack of attention by the provincial government."
Another big mistake is failing to include women and girls who have vanished for years along the so-called Highway of Tears in northern British Columbia, she said.
http://www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/servlet/an/...march_110214/20110214?hub=BritishColumbiaHome
Carrying baskets of red and yellow roses, giant photo collages of lost loved ones and hand-printed signs warning about the "danger" of certain men, the large crowd walked through drenching rain after a memorial service in a Downtown Eastside community centre.
It was the 20th year for the annual march, which started as residents of the blighted neighbourhood tried desperately to bring attention to women -- many aboriginal sex workers -- who were disappearing in growing numbers.
Just before Monday's grim ceremony, advocates spoke out about what they say are inadequacies with the provincial inquiry, which is expected to get under way later this year. Among their concerns were a perceived lack of consultation with the victims' families and aboriginal groups, as well as the appointment of just a single commissioner to oversee the hearings.
"We're talking about, frankly, the most pressing social issue of our time," Angela MacDougall, one of several march organizers, told a news conference.
"We should all be extremely concerned by this lack of attention by the provincial government."
Another big mistake is failing to include women and girls who have vanished for years along the so-called Highway of Tears in northern British Columbia, she said.
http://www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/servlet/an/...march_110214/20110214?hub=BritishColumbiaHome
carbuff
Well-Known Member
Is there a list of these missing women anywhere, with descriptions and other information? The Unidentified section lists a number of women who are thought to be of native ancestry who might be connected.
You'll find some here:
http://www.highwayoftears.ca/
http://www.thehighwayoftears.piczo.com/?cr=1
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2560171651
I will look for more/better links for you.
I would actually like to see a subforum for the Highway of Tears.
carbuff
Well-Known Member
Thank you!
Yes, a forum would be a good idea. It's a large and complex investigation and deserves much more attention than it gets. Those poor women...
The reason I suggest it is that there does seem to be a need for resources on the missing victims, and I think WS would be a great place for it.
People should care more about this. It is a horrible thing.
carbuff
Well-Known Member
Oh, thank you, this is exactly what I was looking for!
believe09
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While we explore this, I want to express some thoughts. There is a fine line between acknowleging the lifestyle of the missing/murdered women and blaming them for being victims. I doubt anyone wakes up one day and says, "hey I think I will become the possible victim of a serial predator by behaving in xyz fashion."
People who are marginalized need more attention than most in a case like this, imo. A transient lifestyle makes you hard to look for-some where there is a family member sadly wondering where their loved one is. Being a native doesnt appear to me to be the sole reason to consider someone marginalized, either...so I think we have to be very sensitive while we explore the relationships between these cases.
My :twocents:
People who are marginalized need more attention than most in a case like this, imo. A transient lifestyle makes you hard to look for-some where there is a family member sadly wondering where their loved one is. Being a native doesnt appear to me to be the sole reason to consider someone marginalized, either...so I think we have to be very sensitive while we explore the relationships between these cases.
My :twocents:
Hazel
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These incidences are certainly NOT taught to any real degree in American schools. I never knew anything about Wounded Knee other than the name until I read Brown's book back in high school on my own. The first time i heard about the Trail of Tears was as a boy when I got map from my mother than showed it plotted out. It was years before I read in depth about it from the books of John Upton Terrell and cannot recall it being covered in school except perhaps very lightly. Incidents as the Sand Creek Massacre were never mentioned at all and i doubt that they still are. The incident was so horrific, so unbelievable, that I doubt a single white American wants his or her child to be taught about the kind of things their ancestors did to "civilize" this country. Or that this kind of thing went on in Vietnam (My Lai) and Iraq.
At the same time, when I read the title of this folder from the main page, even before I opened it, I knew if was going to be about native women and not white women. It had to be. If that many white women were disappearing in Canada, the whole world would have heard about it. It's inconceivable that many native women could die or disappear but nobody really cares. If they were white, the cops would have caught the guy long ago. Don't bother to argue that with me because you won't change my mind.
Tulessa
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I just realized right now it's a new episode, I thought it was a repeat.