Sask. families feel connection to Cindy Gladue murder

They didn’t know Cindy Gladue, but the story of her death was all too familiar for many of the people in the crowd who have personal connections to missing and murdered indigenous women in Saskatchewan.

In Saskatoon, Donna Gamble beat a drum a sang a song of healing for Gladue, her family and the community. A former prostitute who quit in the early 1990s, and a mother, she said Galdue’s death hits close to home, because she knows that could have been her at any point in her career.

“It’s just continued blatant abuse by the justice system for women who are prostitutes,” she said, adding the disappearance of services, such as the now shuttered Tamara’s House, limits support for aboriginal women and sex trade workers.

However, she has mixed feelings about the appeal, saying she’s glad someone has put pressure on the Crown, “but is my heart expecting a difference? No.”

She said she thinks deeper issues of racism and sexism must be addressed before aboriginal women see justice in the courtroom and that is why she wants to share her story.

“I think if everybody shared their story, it would be a library for people to go to if they needed help, whatever that help is,” she said.

Meanwhile, Maxine Goforth spoke at the Regina rally with her son and one living daughter standing by her side.

“Just as a mother, my heart went out to Cindy’s mom,” she said. “I was reading her story and it just broke my heart. It made me re-live my own situation with my own baby girl and I put myself in her shoes and I would want people standing there with me as well.”

Her daughter, Kelly Goforth, 21, was found murdered in Regina’s industrial area in September 2013, just one month before her son’s first birthday. Her family is waiting for the trial of Clayton Bo Eichler, who is also accused of killing Richele Bear.

“Just because they had her publicly known that she was a prostitute, well so be it,” Goforth said. “She was still a human. She’s still a mom, a daughter, a sister, a cousin, a friend. She was human.”

As a mother, Goforth was also disturbed parts of Gladue’s body were preserved and used as evidence in court.

Sue Deranger said reading about that part of the court case was horrific.

“Who in God’s name cuts out a woman’s womb and her private parts and puts it on display?” she said. “And then [Barton] gets acquitted. How can I not be here?”

For Deranger, this case in Edmonton brings back memories of being in a Regina courtroom in 1995 for another trial with two young white men accused of killing another indigenous woman.

“When the jury was going to deliberate they were told, keep in mind these two boys have their whole life in front of them and Pamela George was just a prostitute,” she said.

Deranger said she thinks society needs to stop looking down on prostitutes. She says that lifestyle should not matter in the justice system.

Colleen Oakes said she came to the rally to stand in solidarity with other women across Canada wondering if they are next. Two of her family members went missing and were found murdered. Janine Wesaquate was 20 years old, planning her future as a nurse when she was killed in 2004.

“She never drank, never did drugs. She was just out one night and never came home,” Oakes said.

Oakes said the families need to keep sharing these stories to keep the memory of these women alive.

“Justice needs to be done and it’s failed us severely,” she said.

Her other cousin is Jarita Naistus from the Onion Lake First Nation. She was also 20 years old and a mother of two when her body was found sexually assaulted in a Llyodminster hotel. After a re-trial, the man accused of killing her was cleared of all charges in 2011. The case remains unsolved.

Many people shared their personal stories at the rally. Others held signs reading ‘Justice for Cindy’ and Canadian flags with writing calling for justice for all Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. One little boy held a sign saying “Please stop hurting our native women” while another woman held a sign with the words “I had rough sex, but I’m still alive.”

With files from News Talk’s Lasia Kretzel

news@panow.com

On Twitter: @princealbertnow

by Adriana Christianson

Sask. families feel connection to Cindy Gladue murder

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