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Missing and murdered indigenous women inquiry launched by feds
Government pledges to meet with families immediately

Kassina Ryder
Northern News Services
Monday, December 21, 2015

NORTHWEST TERRITORIES
The federal government announced on Dec. 8 that it will launch an inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women.

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Gloria Mackeinzo, left, and Sommer Wiley carry signs honouring missing and murdered indigenous women during the Sisters in Spirit march in Norman Wells on Oct. 5. - photo courtesy of Sheryl Yakeleya

The first phase of the process will determine how the inquiry will unfold, according to the Government of Canada.

The government pledged to begin meeting with family and friends of victims now, and then expand its scope to include aboriginal governments, as well as provincial and territorial representatives.

Sherry Hodgson, president of the Norman Wells Land Corporation, said she hopes the inquiry will help bring comfort to victims' families. Last fall, Sheryl Yakeleya, the corporation's wellness co-ordinator, approached Hodgson about holding a walk to honour missing and murdered indigenous women.

Hodgson said she thought of a young woman who had grown up in Norman Wells who had been murdered after she moved away.

"She was a young lady that grew up in Norman Wells," she said. "It was something a little closer to home in that way. I've got nephews and nieces and daughters of my own who knew the girl."

The Sisters in Spirit walk and vigil was held in Norman Wells on Oct. 5.

"When it was brought to the table, I thought it would be a good thing to approve and to promote through the corporation," Hodgson said.

Between 25 and 30 people attended, some of whom carried signs detailing the lives of murdered NWT women, including Charlotte Lafferty, who was found murdered near Fort Good Hope's elders' complex in March 2014. Another sign had a picture of Leona Brule from Fort Providence, who has been missing since March 15, 1989.

Hodgson said an inquiry will hopefully shed some light for the families still waiting for answers.

"I feel that it brings a lot of good to the families that are hoping for this type of thing," she said. "It's what they wanted."

There are currently five unsolved murders in the NWT where the victim was an aboriginal female, stated RCMP Const. Elenore Sturko in an e-mail to News/North. There are also eight cases of missing women, three of whom are suspected of being the victims of foul play.

The Native Women Association of Canada released numbers in 2010 that compare numbers on murdered and missing women in the North to the rest of Canada.

Eighty-six per cent of the murders of aboriginal women in NWT, Nunavut and Yukon took place in a residential dwelling, according to the association. The national average was 59 per cent. Forty one per cent of deaths involved an intimate partner, compared to 17 per cent in the rest of Canada.

Between 1980 and 2012, 16 per cent of murdered women in Canada were indigenous.

According to the RCMP, there were more than 1,100 murdered and missing indigenous women and girls in 2014.

NWAC president, Dawn Lavell-Harvard, attended Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's announcement on the inquiry. In a press release, she said the decision was a long time coming.

"As the first Canadian organization to spark the international conversation surrounding the epidemic of missing and murdered indigenous women, NWAC is encouraged today," she said.

Hodgson said the numbers are not only representative of the victims, but their families as well.

"As we know in Norman Wells, there are lots of families out there," she said.

When the government finishes its engagement process, it will then determine who will conduct the inquiry, the issues involved and develop a timeline.

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