Missing and murdered Indigenous women not a recent concern
BETTY: This book should make you cry.
David Alexander Robertson
Illustrated by Scott B. Henderson
Highwater Press, Paper, 30 pages
Ever since Tina Fontaine's brutally murdered body was pulled from the Red River in Winnipeg, the cry for all the missing and murdered Indigenous women has become louder and louder. And it should. Finally, the Canadian government is paying serious attention to these thousands of families who have lost loved ones and friends.
One such story that got some attention back in the 1970s was the brutal murder of Helen Betty Osborne. Her tragic death gripped our nation...for a while.
A book was published last year by Highwater Press tells Betty's story. This short 30-page book was a difficult read for me. It's based on the story but is told as a graphic novel. The book touches on the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. Betty was one of them, killed in 1971.
"Society simply failed to protect young Aboriginal girls like Betty from harm because it ust didn't care," wrote Justice Murray Sinclair in his endorsement of this book. "When they died they became just another statistic. When they went missing, police and other agencies didn't search very long."
In most cases like these, their files went cold.
Sinclair continues, "Every strange place was a community of danger for Aboriginal women and girls. Have things changed? Read this story and decide for yourself."
Justice Murray Sinclair says "the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls is not a recent one. Helen Betty Osborne's story...shows us that it goes back a long way...."
This book "...will break your heart!" writes Katherena Vermette. "Betty's tragic story seamlessly connects to the present day and is a must read for young people today. Interesting that many of young girls being affected by these tragedies weren't even born when Betty lost her life.
Author David Alexander Robertson is an important voice in Canadian comics today. Jeff Lemire states that Robertson's graphic novels are "beautifully realized stories that bridge many divides, helping youth and all Canadians learn more about our First Nations' and [Canada's] history." says Jeff Lemire.
Illustrator Scott Henderson has done an amazing job creating images that reflect the pain and abandonment that Betty must have felt.
Lastly, this book made me cry. I hope you read it and weep. Then get up and take action in some way to change the situation for young Aboriginal girls.
