With recent developments in my hometown of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, I feel the need to rant.

My summer job this year was co-ordinating a youth action camp in Saskatoon about environmental and human rights related issues.  On one day of the camp, my partner and I decided to focus on issues within Saskatoon, and the most important of these is undoubtedly the racism towards First Nations which runs rampant in Saskatoon.  This was first brought to my attention very dramatically when I was in high school and two police officers were fired for a series of incidents resulting in the deaths of 3 native men.  The two allegedly (I say allegedly because neither was ever charged, though there hardly seems to be any doubt) picked up, on 4 seperate occasions, young men who had been drinking and drove them out into the middle of the Saskatchewan prairie in the dead of winter; a sure death sentence.  By chance 1 of the 4 found a nearby building, and survived to report what had happened; the others froze.  We decided to show the participants a documentary by a Saskatoon filmmaker on these incidents.

The night before we had a technological blooper and the tape wouldn't work.  I phoned my uncle, who runs a film program in the city, to frantically enlist his help in finding an alternative. He immediately responded "I have a documentary they must see.  Come pick it up."  The documentary in question is about a situation equally horrifying, yet far less publicized - the upwards of 500 Native women who have been murdered or gone missing in Canada since the 1980's.

Based on a 2004 Amnesty International report, the little known documentary "Stolen Sisters" follows the story of a Saskatoon family from 2004 until now as they search for their missing daughter/sister/wife/mother, Daleen Bosse.  An outline of the case can (and be can I mean SHOULD) be read here - http://www.amnesty.ca/campaigns/sisters_daleen_kay_bosse.php

The documentary was heartbreaking.  Watching the devastation of her family, along with the indifference and stupidity of the police force, left nearly everyone in the room in tears.  In this post I do not want to comment on the marginilization of aboriginal women which has allowed someone like Bosse to become disposable.  I do not even want to comment on the incredible anger I feel at the Saskatoon Police force for their blatantly biased treatment of the case in the initial investigation.  Instead I want to express how upset I am at how little publicity these affairs had.

How is it that despite being involved in human rights related organizations since age 12, I had no idea this was going on?  How can it be that this problem which is so prominent in my own city can have escaped my notice for 20 years??  How is it that two weeks ago I had never heard of Daleen Bosse or any other missing or murdered aboriginal women?

After the camp was over, I went through the evaluation forms we gave our participants.  When we asked them which parts of the camp they found most effective, they invariably responded the documentary on missing aboriginal women.  Over and over again there were comments about how "I had no idea something so terrible happened here".  These women are victimized because of their gender and race by the perpetrators who kidnap, assualt, or murder them - and then further vicitmized by the general public by being treated with such indifference that the media didn't even see fit to publicize their deaths/disappearances!

How is it that this happened here; the home of the first socialist government in North America, the place where universal health care was first introduced to Canada!!  I am ashamed and mortified.

And then three days ago, my heart broke as I opened up our local newspaper to read that Bosse's body had been found - in fact on the very day we watched Stolen Sisters, a creepy coincidence.  A suspect has been arrested and it is wonderful that the police finally found her of course, that her family has closure, and that there is enough interest in her case now that her discovery was reported.  But it is far too late!  Where was all of this back when she disappeared?  Her family, who traveled across Canada searching for her, could have been saved 4 years disappointments and grief.  Everyone in Saskatoon could have been saved 4 years with a murderer and rapist on our midst.  And Daleen is only one woman of 500.

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