Cindy Gladue and the Epidemic of Murdered Indigenous Women in Canada

It will likely be several months before we get a Supreme Court Ruling on the 2011 Cindy Gladue case. Gladue was a young Indigenous woman who bled to death from wounds inflicted during a sexual encounter with Bradley Barton. He was acquitted after a horrendous trial, which was thrown out in appeals and a new trial was ordered. On October 11, the case went before the Supreme Court.

From the moment this story made the news, it’s been a beacon for how mistreated Indigenous women are, especially when it comes to sexual assault and violence. The idea of using Ms. Gladue’s most private body parts evidence is mind-boggling. The level of disrespect and dehumanization is something we can’t even imagine being cast upon our loved ones.

Unfortunately, Gladue wasn’t alone. This country has a history of neglect when it comes to Indigenous women. We have the films to prove it. What follows below are five separate stories about the experiences of Indigenous women.

Who Cares?

This feature-length doc, produced the year after Gladue’s death, captures the gritty and dangerous world of Edmonton’s sex trade workers. Gladue, also from Alberta and a sex trade worker, would have had much to identify with here. The situation is so bad that the women voluntarily provide police with their DNA samples, in the event a later postmortem identification.

oehttps://https://ift.tt/2PD8xrr

this river

This short doc from 2016 looks at the issue affecting Indigenous women from an Indigenous perspective. Katherena Vermette and Kyle Kematch both have loved ones who have disappeared. They both had to deal with the seeming indifference they faced in their search, as well. Here, they share their stories and offer a message of beauty, grace, and resilience.

oehttps://https://ift.tt/2vdgr2j

Finding Dawn

The Canadian epidemic of missing or murdered Indigenous women is front and centre in this 2006 doc. It has long been our cornerstone film on the issue. We go from Vancouver’s skid row down the Highway of Tears and through to Saskatoon, tracing the path of unsolved disappearances. It’s simply heartbreaking.

oehttps://https://ift.tt/2PF1A91

A Safe Distance

This short doc from 1986 was part of a 3-part series called The Next Step, which covered the services available to battered women. The film focuses on rural, northern, and Native communities. It features a shelter on the West Bay Reserve in Ontario that was built by Indigenous women, as a statement tat the Reserve will not tolerate violence against women.

oehttps://https://ift.tt/2P2BsrD

Donna’s Story

I will leave you with the inspiring story of one Cree woman who left life on the streets and became a powerful voice in the community about youth, abuse, and addiction. Donna Gamble grew up in foster homes and worked in the sex trade by the age of 13. Her story could have ended like any of those above. Instead, she works with her mother and daughters to break the cycle.

oehttps://https://ift.tt/2PD3Mhv

 

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