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LessonSummaryMissing&MurderedIndigenousWomen&Girls

WelcometoanotherIndigenousJourneylesson.Thissummarywillguideyouthrougheverythingyouneedtoknowbeforedeliveringthislessontoyourclass.1. KeyConcepts

Duringthislesson,studentswilllearnabouttheongoingmurderinganddisappearancesofIndigenouswomenandgirls.Afterashortquiztotestperceptions,studentswillpresentanumberofdifferentproHilesofwomenandgirlswhohavegonemissingorwhohavebeenmurdered.FollowingashortdiscussionabouttheproHiles,studentswillwritealetteraimedatinformingthereaderabouttheissueandwhatactionsshouldtakeplace.

2. TimeAllotment

Thislessonrequiresatotalof45minutestocomplete.Thefollowingisabreakdownofsuggestedtimeallotmentsperactivity:

3. MaterialsRequired

• Projector&speakerstorunthelessonpresentation• Missing&MurderedPro:ilesseeAppendixI• LettertemplateseeAppendixII

Activity Time

Quiz&Introduction 5minutes

ProHiles&Discussion 20minutes

LetterActivity&Discussion 20minutes

!4. AdditionalActivities

• HighwayofTearsVideocanbepurchasedthroughtheNationalFilmBoard• FacelessDollsActivity

Sincetheseactivitiesmayrequirematerialsnotlistedaboveandadditionalpreparationtime,itisimportanttoreadthroughthedocumentbeforedeliveringtoyourclass.

WehopeyouenjoythisIndigenousJourneylesson.Ifyouhaveanycomments,questions,orconcerns,pleasecontactusthroughthewebsite.

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AppendixI-Missing&MurderedProHiles

Pleaseprintthe20proHiles.FeelfreetoprintadditionalcopiessothateveryoneintheclassasaproHiletorefertoduringtheactivity.

Name: Sarah Skunk

Age: 43

Location: Ontario

Status: Missing

Story: Sarah Skunk was one of 11 siblings, and at 43 she was seen for the last time by a friend in Thunder Bay, Ontario in 1995. The Nishnawbe Aski Police Service is investigating the missing persons file and took DNA samples from Sarah’s mother in September 2014 to compare with that of a body that was discovered on the West Coast of the United States in 1996.

The family, along with two investigators from the Nishnawbe Aski Police Service, have followed up on leads that have surfaced over the years of mystery, but Sarah has yet to be found.

The Skunks say it’s been a painful rollercoaster ride; one that they’d like officers to be more sensitive of, particularly when it comes to communication about investigative updates.

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Name: Shelly Dene

Age: 25

Location: Alberta

Status: Missing

Story: Shelly Dene, 25, was mother to one son, and after dropping out of school at a young age, she finished Grade 12 in 2010. She was seen for the last time in Edmonton, Alberta in July 2013. The Edmonton Police Service is investigating the missing persons case. Shelly’s family last heard from investigators on Dec. 9, 2014, when police told the family they’ve exhausted all tips.

The last time anyone saw Shelly, a band member of Alberta’s Fort McKay First Nation with family ties and a stronger connection to the Mikisew Cree Nation, was mid-July 2013 in Edmonton, Alta.

Shelly’s grandmother asked her to watch her home because she was going on vacation.

Around that time, Candice contacted Shelly through text messages.

“It’s when I asked her if she was okay over text. She said ‘no.’ And that was the last thing she’s ever said to me.”

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!Name: Immaculate Basil

Age: 26

Location: British Columbia

Status: Missing

Story: Immaculate “Mackie” Basil, was a mother to one from the Tl’azt’en Nation, British Columbia. She was last seen on June 14th, 2013, around the Kuzche Reserve near Fort St. James, BC. An extensive search failed to find her. The Fort St. James RCMP is handling the investigation and the case is active and ongoing.

The day before she disappeared, Ida (her sister) said that she was at a party in the community. Early the next morning, on June 14, 2013, a truck driver spotted her hitchhiking alone in the Leo Creek area, north of the Tachie reserve.

Ida does not hear from the police regarding Immaculate’s case, she says. The last time the police contacted her was the year Immaculate went missing.

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!Name: Jennifer Catcheway

Age: 18

Location: Manitoba

Status: Missing

Story: Jennifer Catcheway phoned her mom on June 19, 2008 to say she would be home in Manitoba’s Portage la Prairie that night to celebrate her 18th birthday, but she never arrived. Police traced that phone call to Grand Rapids, Manitoba, where Catcheway was last seen. The Winnipeg RCMP are investigating the homicide, and officers last spoke to Catcheway’s parents in 2014. As of October 2015, a new witness has come forward with information about Catcheway's disappearance and made a statement to the RCMP. Catcheway (Jennifer’s mom) says the investigation into her daughter’s homicide was mishandled, especially in its early stages.

Weeks after Jennifer was reported missing, officers in Portage la Prairie and Grand Rapids hadn’t taken statements from multiple family members.

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Name: Shannon Alexander

Age: 17

Location: Quebec

Status: Missing

Story: Shannon Alexander, 17, is from Maniwaki, Quebec, and is described as a very outgoing person who loved to stay physically fit and was looking forward to nursing school. On Sept. 6, 2008, Shannon disappeared from Maniwaki with her friend, Maisy Odjick. The Sûreté du Quebec handles Shannon’s missing person's case.

Charlene McConini, friend, says she still doesn't understand how Shannon and her friend Maisy Odjick got labelled as runaways by police when the girls did not bring any of their belongings from the last place they were seen.

McConini said she does not support a federal inquiry because she feels the government would not implement any of its recommendations.

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Name: Lora Frank

Age: 19

Location: Yukon

Status: Missing

Story: Lora Frank, the youngest of five children in her family, was 19 years old when she was reported missing in 1993. She had lived in Lower Post, B.C. and Watson Lake in Yukon Territory. She moved to Whitehorse several months before she disappeared, and was last seen in the Yukon between late 1988 and early 1989.

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Name: Charlene Catholique

Age: 15

Location: Northwest Territories

Status: Missing

Story: Charlene Catholique loved to watch cartoons to make her laugh before she went to school. The 15-year-old disappeared from Behchoko, Northwest Territories on July 22, 1990. The Behchoko RCMP is investigating the missing persons case, and investigators last had contact with family around 2008.

Although Joe Catholique loves his daughter immensely, he gave up going to police for answers about her disappearance.

He says he tried to get investigators to continue to search for Charlene Catholique for years, but it was like he was “talking to [a] wall.”

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Name: Mabel Leo

Age: 18

Location: British Columbia

Status: Missing

Story: Mabel Leo was last seen leaving a party near Nairn Falls in Pemberton, British Columbia, in 1969. The 18-year-old has never been found.

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Name: Joyce Tillotson

Age: 42

Location: Saskatchewan

Status: Missing

Story: Joyce Tillotson, 42, was last seen in Regina, Saskatchewan, when she left her residence to visit her friend on Nov. 14, 1993. She never arrived at her friend’s home. Tillotson, who had various tattoos including one on her left hand that said “LOVE,” has never been found. Born in 1951, Tillotson was originally from the Carry The Kettle Nakoda First Nation near Indian Head, Saskatchewan.

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Name: Roxanne Elaine Fleming

Age: 18

Location: British Columbia

Status: Missing

Story: Roxanne Elaine Fleming was mother to one daughter when she was last seen checking herself into the Lillooet District Hospital in Lillooet, British Columbia in August 1982. Roxanne Fleming was born Rosanne Darcy Copeland. She was given up for adoption in the first couple months of her life. Her adoptive parents reported her missing in October 2003, and on Jan. 21, 2015, the Lillooet RCMP reopened the missing persons case.

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Name: Aielah Saric-Auger

Age: 14

Location: British Columbia

Status: Murdered

Story: Aielah Saric-Auger was 14 when she disappeared on Feb. 2, 2006. Family members said the Leidli T'enneh First Nations teen had spent the night at a friends house. She was last spotted near a downtown bar in Prince George, British Columbia. Her family plastered “missing” posters all over downtown Prince George but a week after she went missing a passing motorist travelling east to Prince George on Highway 16 found her body lying at the base of the highway embankment. Her case is being investigated by Project E-PANA, a task force dedicated to unsolved murders with links to Highway 16 between Prince George and Prince Rupert, otherwise known as The Highway of Tears.

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Name: Angel Carlick

Age: 19

Location: Yukon

Status: Murdered

Story: Angel Edna Carlick worked at The Youth of Today Society — the same downtown Whitehorse, Yukon resource centre she said changed her life. Shortly after her high school graduation, on May 27, 2007 Carlick was seen for the last time in the city. Nearly six months later, a hiker found her body in a wooded area in Pilot Mountain, Yukon near Whitehorse. The city’s RCMP is investigating the homicide, and Carlick’s friend and former colleague says officers contact her each year in April with updates. The last she heard, three officers are working on the case.

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Name: Cheyenne Fox

Age: 20

Location: Ontario

Status: Murdered, Unresolved

Story: Cheyenne Santana Marie Fox, 20, was found lifeless at the bottom of a Toronto highrise on April 25, 2013. She fell from the 24th floor. Toronto police determined there was no evidence of criminal activity in her death, but her case remains open. Her father, John Fox Sr., strongly believes she was murdered. There were three 911 calls in the hours preceding her death, though police did not respond. Her father is currently suing the Toronto Police Service, the Attorney General of Canada and two individuals for $14 million, alleging they breached the applicable standard of care in her case

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Name: Brittany Bearspaw

Age: 16

Location: Alberta

Status: Murdered, Unresolved

Story: Brittany Bearspaw was found dead on the Trans-Canada Highway near Morley, Alta. on Jan. 1, 2006. An Alberta medical examiner determined her immediate cause of death as “multiple blunt force injuries” and the manner of death as undetermined. RCMP say it was a hit and run. Her parents, Geraldine Bearspaw and John Sedo, say police told them it might have been suicide. They say RCMP misplaced valuable evidence in the case, but police say there is no mention of that in their file.

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Name: Charnelle Masakeyash

Age: 26

Location: Ontario

Status: Murdered

Story: Charnelle Jenny Masakeyash was a mother of three young children from Mishkeegogamang First Nation in northern Ontario. Masakeyash was known as funny and loving. She was last seen on Highway 599, south of Pickle Lake and north of Kenora, on Nov. 6, 2015. She was reported missing two days later. The Ontario Provincial Police concluded their search in early July 2016 after finding Masakeyash's remains. The cause of her death is undetermined and Masakeyash’s case continues to be investigated by the OPP criminal investigation branch in conjunction with the office of the chief coroner.

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Name: Sabrina Polchies

Age: 22

Location: New Brunswick

Status: Murdered, Unresolved

Story: On Canada Day 2010, Sabrina Polchies left her home in the small First Nation community of Elsipogtog, N.B., for Moncton. Five days later, the 22-year-old was found dead in a Salisbury, N.B., apartment. Police determined there was no foul play in her death but her mother, Mary Polchies, believed Sabrina was killed by people she was with that night. Mary Polchies said she received a phone call from her daughter the day she died, and could hear men yelling abusive comments at her. “She called me and she said, ‘Mom, your worst nightmare came true.’”

Mary said Sabrina told her she had befriended some people, but they had become mad at her. She said Sabrina didn’t know where she was.

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!Name: Verna Simard

Age: 50

Location: British Columbia

Status: Murdered, Unresolved

Story: Verna Shabaquay, who also went by the last name Simard, fell to her death from the sixth floor of the Regent Hotel in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside on Sept. 16, 2011. The mother of five was in her hotel suite with her boyfriend that night, according to Vancouver police. Her death was initially ruled suspicious by police, but it was later determined that no foul play was involved. Jesse Ranville, Verna’s youngest son, says one person disputed several eyewitness accounts, and that was enough for police to say it was not suspicious.

Her death was classified as “undetermined” due to “significant inconsistencies in the witness reports around her death, the history of abuse in her relationship.”

The report noted that Vancouver police have concluded their investigation but “will reopen the case if any new evidence is obtained.”

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Name: Delores Brown

Age: 19

Location: British Columbia

Status: Murdered,

Story: Delores Brown, 19, was last seen on July 27, 2015. Family and friends notified police two days later. Brown was from Penelakut Island, B.C. Her phone, iPod and wallet were found in her bedroom making her disappearance seem like more than that of a runaway. Her body was recovered from the water off another small island, Norway Island, on Aug. 19. Police say foul play is suspected. Ladysmith RCMP are investigating.�

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Name: Justine Cochran

Age: 15

Location: Alberta

Status: Murdered

Story: Justine Cochrane was a 15-year-old girl from the Sunchild First Nation, a Cree community in Alberta, who enjoyed crafts, powwows and hanging out with her aunties. On March 4, 2011, Justine’s body was found on a gravel road on the Sunchild First Nation after being severely beaten. The case remains open and the Rocky Mountain House RCMP say they continue to investigate.

Justine’s death is all too similar to the death of her mother, Trudy Gopher. Trudy was killed on the Mother’s Day weekend in 1997, also on the Sunchild First Nation.

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Name: Cheryl Duck

Age: 15

Location: Manitoba

Status: Murdered

Story: Cheryl Duck was 15 when she was killed and left face-down in a field behind a residential area in Winnipeg’s Maples subdivision. Media reports from the time say she was assaulted and left to freeze to death. Her body was found on Dec. 5, 1987. The Winnipeg Police Service’s Project Devote is investigating her death, which is considered a homicide and remains open and unsolved.

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