Chris's Crime Forum

This is a very informative and scary website when you look at the statistics of First Nations women missing in Canada.

http://www.missingnativewomen.ca/

While the issue of Canada’s over 500 missing and murdered Aboriginal women was recently brought up in Parliament, the families of the missing and murdered in northwestern Ontario are still waiting for answers.

I think we would like to know if the police are actually doing anything,” said Rosemary Panacheese, whose mother Viola Isabella Panacheese went missing in Sioux Lookout in 1991. “You still hear stories around town – people talking about where she is buried, but they don’t want to tell us (where) because they’re scared.”

Panacheese said that although she didn’t live with her mother when she disappeared – she and some of her siblings lived with their father and some others lived with their mother after their parents separated – she has participated in sweat lodge ceremonies and the Full Moon Memory Walk held in Thunder Bay to help ease her pain.

“After we did the ceremony, I felt a lot better,” Panacheese said. “Just being a part of the Full Moon Memory Walk, walking for the people, our voices will be heard when we demand that police officers go and look for the missing women.”

Beverly Bannon, whose best friend Rena Fox was murdered outside of Thunder Bay in 2003, would like to see further police investigations into Fox’s case.

“It was sad they didn’t continue the investigation,” Bannon said. “She was killed. Her murder wasn’t solved. It was really strange – she was a government worker and had a really good life.”

Bannon has also participated in the Full Moon Memory Walk as a means to keep the issue of missing or murdered Aboriginal women alive in Thunder Bay.

“That is the only way we can raise awareness that this is happening,” Bannon said. “It is very unsafe to walk at night. Even during the day time.”

Bannon would like to see the development of a women’s support group in Thunder Bay.

“We need more support for women to get together,” she said.

The issue of Canada’s missing and murdered Aboriginal women was raised by newly-elected New Democratic Party MP Megan Leslie during a Nov. 25 parliamentary session, when she spoke about the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women request that Canada look into the women’s cases and report back in one year.

“The UN gave a recommendation urging Canada to carry out thorough investigations of Aboriginal women that have gone missing,” said the NDP deputy critic for Urban Aboriginal Affairs. “Another recommendation asked that Canada must carry out an analysis of those cases to determine whether there is a racialized pattern to the disappearances. If there is, Canada needs to take measures to address the problem.”

Local criminologist Laura Madison wants to see a standard response policy from police when people go missing, regardless of the missing person’s race.

They have to give the same care and concern when First Nations people go missing,” said Madison, a criminologist researcher with Dark Horse Consulting in Kenora. “When these events happen, I want to see the same (response as) when a white girl goes missing.”

Madison said after doing extensive research into missing people across the country, she has found problems with how police deal with missing First Nations women.

“First Nations people are not treated equally,” she said. “I can prove it, and have seen it.”

The Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) recently tabled a report on the issue, Voices of Our Sisters In Spirit: A Research and Policy Report to Families and Communities, which contains the stories of a number of Aboriginal women who went missing, including three whose families had to convince police that their loved ones had indeed gone missing. The report is available on the NWAC website.

NWAC, Amnesty International Canada and KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives also addressed the issue in a letter to all 2008 Federal Election candidates. The letter provided two shocking statistics. According to a 1996 government statistic, young Indigenous women with status under the Indian Act are five times more likely than all other women to die as a result of violence; and, last year, a joint committee of the Saskatchewan government, Indigenous peoples’ organizations, police and community groups reported that Indigenous women make up 60 per cent of the long-term, unresolved cases of missing women in the province. The letter is also available on the NWAC website.

“The high levels of racialized, sexualized violence directed against Aboriginal women in Canada is a national and international shame,” said Beverley Jacobs, NWAC president. “We urge governments in Canada to recognize these threats and take concrete action now.”

Over 500 First Nations women are missing or their deaths remain unsolved. If these numbers were compared to Canada’s overall population, it would translate to about 18,000 missing women.

Madison has provided the Ontario Provincial Police North West Region with some training sessions in the past, where she and a number of health/community practitioners educated the officers on missing Aboriginal women, the epidemic nature of violence against Aboriginal females, and the disparities of response with regards to Aboriginal versus non-Aboriginal women in the press and within police forces.

More could be done to find missing Aboriginal women: Panacheese

“They were shocked,” Madison said. “They had no idea there were so many people missing. They had no idea that when First Nations women go missing, there is less response.”

Madison said many of the officers seemed genuinely concerned about working towards changes to address the situation. She provided them with handouts about some of the policy, communication, legislative and social issues that require changes to better protect Aboriginal women.

“The fact that you can actually see a missing First Nation woman’s face in the newspapers just started about two years ago,” Madison said.

Madison added that Saskatchewan is the only province in the country to develop a missing persons committee.

A United Nations committee made a number of other recommendations, including proactive measures to address the shortage in shelters and services for Aboriginal women who are victims of violence; measures to address the lopsided number of Aboriginal children in state custody; independent oversight of the correctional system and comprehensive and accessible redress measures for women who have experienced violations in the correctional system; immediate action to address the discriminatory Bill C_31 provisions of the Indian Act in the transmission of status to future generations; and greater efforts to provide a sufficient number of affordable quality childcare spaces and affordable and adequate housing options, including in Aboriginal communities.

But while the issue is being discussed, the families of the missing and murdered continue to wait for police to solve the cases of their loved ones. Northwestern Ontario currently has about 27 unsolved cases involving the deaths of Aboriginal women and six cases of missing Aboriginal women, ranging from the unknown remains found on the grounds of the Thunder Bay Regional Hospital in 2007 to the death of Sarah Jane Wawia in 1966.

“When there are so many of our people missing, they should be doing a lot more than just filling out a report,” Panacheese said.

link

SURREY: On April 14, 2005, 24-year-old Dorcas Gail SHORSON, known as Gail, was reported missing by her mother. Her mother has not seen her daughter since April 2, 2005 when Gail left her home in the 13600 block of Larner Road. Gail’s three young children are currently being cared for by their grandmother. Gail is known to use drugs and it is likely she is either in Surrey or Vancouver working as a sex trade worker.

Dorcas aka Gail is described as a First Nations female, 5’ 5” (165 cm) in height and weighing 131 lbs (59 kg). She has red hair and brown eyes. A photo can be viewed at www.rcmp-bcmedia.ca She was last seen wearing jeans and a blue coat.

Anyone with information about the whereabouts of this person, or if you see her, please contact the Surrey RCMP at 604 599-0502, or, if you wish to remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-Tips.

Renee Gunning age 19 has been missing from Fort St. John B.C. since February 18th 2005.It is believed she may have been with another missing woman,Naomi Lynn Ratcliffe who has also been missing since Feb 18th 2005.

Amber Redman is described as aboriginal, 5′8, 126 pounds with long, brown hair. She was last seen wearing denim blue jeans, a denim blue jean shirt and blue metal earrings in the shape of a heart with two eagle feathers. She is a member of the Standing Buffalo First Nation. (went missing aug 2006).

UPDATE-Yes, its true remains believing to be those of Amber Redman have been found. An arrest has been made.

Police are searching a residence and an out door area near or on the Little Black Bear First Nation lands.

Police state that the suspect in Amber’s death had no previous relationship with her.

Melanie Dawn Geddes went missing Aug. 13, 2005. She is 24 years old and described as 5′9, 190 pounds with long, black, curly hair, brown eyes and has a mole on her left cheek. She was last seen in the 900 block of Robinson Street in Regina at 1 a.m., wearing a white sleeveless blouse and light blue capris.

UPDATE-A family's worst fears have been realized – the human remains found near Southey in December have been identified as belonging to Melanie Dawn Geddes of Regina.

The family of the 24-year-old woman said Wednesday morning they had received word from the RCMP that positive identification of the remains had been made.

Daleen Bosse went missing May 18, 2004. She was 26 years old and is described as 5′5, 170 pounds and wears glasses. She is a member of the Onion Lake First Nation and was last seen by her family in Saskatoon.

UPDATE-It was a tough day for family and friends of Daleen Kay Bosse. The 25 year old disappeared four years ago..last seen at a Saskatoon nightclub. The remains of Bosse have been found in a secluded area just outside of Warman. An old freezer, rusted wire, piles of shingles surround the site where her remains were located on Friday. Where her body once was, now stands a bouquet of flowers and cigarettes - a tobacco offering to the dead. Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations Chief Lawrence Joseph has thanked all the police agencies for sticking with the case for so long. 30 year old Douglas Hales has been charged with first degree murder as well as offering an indignity to a body. According to the crown prosecutor, Bosse's body was set on fire.

Everyone has heard of Paul Bernardo. But John Crawford?

The serial killer murdered four poor aboriginal women and was suspected of killing at least three others in Saskatoon in the early '90s. But his trials and the lives of his victims have garnered little interest by the police, the press and the public.

Saskatchewan journalist Warren Goulding covered the case and wrote a book about it, Just Another Indian: A Serial Killer and Canada's Indifference.

He believes society's indifference has continued, despite the recent high-profile cases of murdered aboriginal women in Edmonton and Vancouver.

"I don't really think things have changed that much," Goulding said Friday while in Edmonton to receive an award.

"I don't get the sense the general public cares much about missing or murdered aboriginal women.

"It's all part of this indifference to the lives of aboriginal people. They don't seem to matter as much as white people."

The Institute for the Advancement of Aboriginal Women has honoured Goulding for his book, which was published in 2001, and presented him with its social justice award at a reception Friday night.

Muriel Stanley Venne, the Edmonton-based group's president and founder, agrees attitudes towards female aboriginal victims still need to change.

"We're really on a long journey here," she said.

In his book, 53-year-old Goulding reports that nearly 500 aboriginal women were reported missing in Western Canada between 1990 and 1994.

Earlier this month, Alberta RCMP announced it would form a task force to investigate 83 cases of murdered and missing women, many of them aboriginal, dating back to 1982. The remains of nine of the women, who led high-risk lifestyles which sometimes included prostitution, were found in rural areas outside Edmonton.

In Vancouver, Robert Pickton has been ordered to stand trial on 15 counts of first-degree murder in connection with the deaths of 15 missing prostitutes, many of them aboriginal. Another 48 women are still missing.

Crawford met his first murder victim, Mary Jane Serloin, in a Lethbridge bar two days before Christmas in 1981. He was convicted of the killing and released from prison in 1989 and three years later murdered Shelley Napope, Eva Taysup and Calinda Waterhen in Saskatoon, Goulding said.

Crawford is serving three concurrent life sentences in the Saskatchewan Penitentiary in Prince Albert.

LINK

Lisa Marie Willier

Missing Since: October 13, 2004 from Bonnyville, Alberta
Classification: Missing
Date Of Birth: N'A
Age: 15
Height: 5'3"
Weight: 118 lbs.
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Brown
Race: Native
Gender: Female
Distinguishing Characteristics: Shoulder length brown hair.
Clothing: Blue jeans and black hoodie

Last seen on October 13th, 2004 in the town of Bonnyville in the company of other youths from the area

http://www.nampn.org/cases/willier_lisa.html

Tamra Keepness

July 6 will mark the five-year anniversary of the disappearance of the then five-year-old Keepness, who was reported missing from her home on the 1800 block of Ottawa Street. A massive search ensued both in and out of the city but she was never found. The case has remained open.

A week after her disappearance the ground search was halted and the FSIN launched its own search. However that search also netted no results.

Lonechild was at the announcement of the new RPS database and said after four years any news or discussion is appreciated. He said since the disappearance, the FSIN's Women's Secretariat has been working to raise awareness of missing women and children.

"It's important because we keep missing people in Saskatchewan. It's unacceptable when it's children," said Lonechild.

He was equally thankful that the police will continue to advertise the $25,000 reward to encourage anyone with information to come forward.

"Today we just want to make sure the police commission and others will look at reinvigorating public efforts in terms of raising awareness that Tamra Keepness is still missing," said Lonechild.

Chief of Police Troy Hagen said the RPS is forming a seven-person investigative team that will correlate and sift through the investigative file pertaining to Keepness. That information will be reformatted and entered into a database, making the large file far more accessible, explained Hagen.

An 18 year-old girl from Frog Lake is been missing and Mounties are asking for help finding her.
Cheyenne Golden Eagle Stanley was last seen June 21 2007.

Her family says a week-long absence without contact is out of character for the girl.

Stanley is five-foot-six and about 130 pounds with brown hair.

Police say there is no reason to suspect Stanley lives a high-risk lifestyle.

Still missing

Over 500 aboriginal women have been murdered or are missing across Canada and aboriginal communities continue to live with the grief inflicted by these unresolved murders.
"Violence against aboriginal women in Canada is a clear and present danger; however, it must be understood within the history of colonization that has been and continues to be experienced in our communities," outlines Beverley Jacobs, president of the Native Women's Association of Canada. Jacobs will be in town March 17 to speak about the ongoing struggle to raise awareness about the missing women and indigenous rights generally in Canada.

"Cases of missing aboriginal women have been systematically met with lack of action and silence from authorities in Canada," continues Jacobs. "It is clear that the response until now doesn't match the scale of the tragedy at hand, which impacts every single native community across Canada, where women are the backbone, holding our communities together against incredible odds."

In February 2009, the UN Human Rights Council issued a report which specifically highlighted the treatment of aboriginal women in Canada as a human rights concern.

Additionally, members of the UN Human Rights Council called on Canada to adopt the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, supported by a strong majority at the UN General Assembly in 2007.

"Canada is clearly out of step with the international community when it comes to the international framework of protecting indigenous rights," explains Jacobs. "The missing aboriginal women illustrate the disregard and lack of concern towards indigenous people from the government."

Beverley Jacobs will speak on Tuesday, March 17, at 6 p.m. at Atwater Library (1200 Atwater Ave.) with Ellen Gabriel, president of Quebec Native Women (QNW).

http://www.hour.ca/news/news.aspx?iIDArticle=16790