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The beautiful woman in the picture above was Pamela George who was an unfortunate one of the many victims of racial crime. 28 years old Pamela George, a daughter, mother and most importantly a human that wasn’t treated as such. George who was a sex worker at the time was lured into a trap by two white men who kidnapped, raped and left her to die by the roadside. The two middle-class teens, Steven Kummerfield and Alex Ternowetsky, even appeared in front of the court and were only sentenced for six and a half year for murder (Heather Mallick,2020). The judge, Justice Ted Malone, kept pursuing the case based on George’s profession. A profession she picked up because of her desperate times and to provide for her family. Malone further established his point when he easily dismissed Pamela being raped by believing her profession gives consent. According to the Cambridge Dictionary, the word consent stands for “to agree to do something or to allow someone to do something” thus showing the bias act of the judge (Betty Ann Adam,1997).

The story came more into the limelight because Pamela George was Indigenous. We call it a racial act because even after the death of Pamela, these men dehumanized her in their speech. Collected from a friend of theirs told the court he had asked them what they had done the night before. “Not much,” Kummerfield said. “We drove around, got drunk and killed this chick.” Later, separately, Ternowetsky told him, “She deserved it. She was Indian.” (Heather Mallick,2020). Why is it that such a heinous crime even after being committed that the killers think it was validated with the sole reason being she belongs to a community? This is not the only case of Indigenous women being murdered or missing in Canada. It is astonishing how at present-day women are used

as a metaphor to show hate crime, their bodies a target for an oppressive, racist male that wants to show their dominance and the power he holds. Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) has created a database of missing and murdered Aboriginal women and girls. The statistic below is based on NWAC’s database as of March 31, 2010. NWAC has gathered information about 582 cases of missing and murdered Aboriginal women and girls. There are more than 582 cases that were not even reported (Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women and Girls,2010). In an article, Nixon said, Colonialism paired with misogyny within Canadian institutions has led to some highly problematic men in influential positions (LINDSAY NIXON,2019). This fits perfectly into the case of Pamela George and many others. An alarming number of people still treat Indigenous people as though they do not belong here. The lack of governments interest, the misguidance of the police force, the buried hatred or racism has these numbers of women missing and murdered reach at this height. Even when voiced out, most of these cases are not taken into account. Fear has been installed into these beautiful women whose roots are now their burden.

A recent event portrays the exact horror these women live in. A celebrated Canadian poet, George Elliott Clarke was invited to deliver the Woodrow Lloyd Lecture on Jan 23. The talk was titled “‘Truth and Reconciliation’ versus ‘the Murdered and Missing’: Examining Indigenous Experiences of (In)Justice in Four Saskatchewan Poets.” in University of Regina(LAUREN KRUGEL,2020). A prestigious university that has always been in support of the Indigenous culture. In their school website, it says “The University of Regina is situated in Treaty 4 territory with a presence in Treaty 6 territory. Treaty 4 is

the traditional territory of the Cree, Saulteaux, Nakota, Lakota, and Dakota peoples, and it is the homeland of the Métis people. Indigenous Students are welcome and supported at the University of Regina, we are committed to Indigenization and reconciliation.”

In Clarke’s lecture, he wanted to recite a poem written by a close friend. Given the fact that Pamela George loved writing and the lecture was based upon the Murdered and Missing, this would be the best time to showcase a woman’s talent other than being viewed as nothing less than a sex worker according to media. However, a surprising turn of event takes place when it is known that Clarke’s close friend is Stephen Brown or previously know as Steven Kummerfield. Indigenous leaders and some faculty members urged the university to cancel it because of Clarke’s association with the killer of Pamela George, a first nation woman. To make matters worse, Clarke stated he would not pander to “so-called intellectuals” and “may or may not” read a poem by Brown at the lecture ((LAUREN KRUGEL,2020). This made a huge disruption in the First Nation community and with students of the University of Regina. Many took it to infamous social media, Twitter and it trended very quickly spreading words. Misty Longman, manager of the university’s ta-tawaw Student Centre, said cancelling the speech was the only option because the University was being discreet over cancelling the speech. They argued that they support Indigenous believe but also freedom of speech. After much speculation, the school cancelled the speech. Although the situation came to an end, it is terrifying how the events unfold one after another. The fact that Clarke stated, “My friend, the accomplice to murder of this woman, is an incredible poet … He is a fairly kind man, who has paid his debt to society

as the saying goes, and so should be left to live his life.” paints a picture of how easily the case of Pamela George was being dismissed if there was no resistance shown to it. It also shows how institutions with power chose to represent themselves and their reputation by trying to have a well-known poet over sentiments and honour of Pamela George and her family. Today’s resistance and the storm that was taken up by youth shows that every little step counts. We need to keep fighting for Indigenous women until every last of them remembers the case of Pamela George but not encounter one....