What happened
to our missing
and murdered
indigenous
women

at would you do if your best friend disappeared without
a trace? How would you react if your sister’s body was
discovered in a suspected homicide?

As horrific as it sounds, this is a reality known to thousands
of Canadians affected by the loss of 1,181 women who have
disappeared or have been murdered since 1980, according to the
RCMP’s 2014 report “Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women:
An Operational Overview.’ What do these women all have in
common? They belong to Canada’s indigenous population.

It was an issue that was well-debated and highlighted in the
recent federal election, but where was the concern prior to that?
Seemingly, the Canadian government showed little, and at times
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Nations Human Rights Committee in mid-August.

“The Committee is concerned that indigenous women and
girls are disproportionately affected by life-threatening forms of
violence, homicides, and disappearances,” according to the UN’s
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. “Notably, the
Committee is concerned about the State party’s reported failure to
provide adequate and effective responses to this issue across the
territory of the State party.”

Despite the fact that this horrific phenomenon has been
occurring throughout the country for at least 36 years, the issue
of missing and murdered indigenous women has only recently
come to common public knowledge. In brutal honesty, it is most
likely due to how desensitized Canadians have become to violence
against Aboriginal women.

The Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) has been
tracking the issue for years and fighting for a national inquiry.
NWAC released some statistics in 2010 that showed some of the
facts and realities of the cases of missing and murdered indigenous
women.

In its study of 582 cases of missing and murdered women, 92
per cent involve women under the age of 45. Even young girls are

 

not exempt from the violence, as 17 per cent of these victims were
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This is an issue that has been affecting indigenous women
nationwide. British Columbia is the most dangerous place in
Canada for these women, accounting for 28 per cent of cases. The
western provinces of BC, Alberta, and Saskatchewan account for 54
per cent of cases, while central Canada accounts for another 29 per
cent, Atlantic provinces have maintained the safest environment
for the women, as only two per cent of cases have occurred there.

Of course, these women were and are so much more than
numbers. They all have their own story. An anonymous source
shared a tale about a woman she once knew.

Her name was Joyce Hewitt, although she went by Joy.

To the public, little is known about Hewitt, other than her
fate. According to a limited CBC profile of her case, Hewitt was
found dead on October 19, 1997. Her remains were discovered in
Sherwood Park, Alberta.

It was during her time in post-secondary that my source
discovered what had happened to Hewitt.

“I went to college some years ago and through Aboriginal
studies learned that her name was on a police database stating...

I cannot even type it. Iam so angry.”

Allegedly, Hewitt sustained a “dangerous lifestyle.’

Many of these women faced struggles in their lives, including
drug use, alcoholism, homelessness, and sex work. According to
NWAC’s data, approximately 50 per cent of the murdered women
were known to or suspected to have some prostitution ties.

What doesn’t seem to be commonly known is that so many of
the women that were involved in prostitution were trafficked into it
against their will, as was the case with Bridget Perrier.

Perrier, now 39, was trafficked on ships in Lake Superior when
she was only 12 years old. She was taken by a sailor and kept on his
ship. Once aboard the ship, she recounts the sailor threatening to
kill her if she didn’t comply with his demands.