Commentary

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Author One
Author Two

For my final project, I have chosen to examine five missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. These women are Ramona Lisa Wilson, Cherisse Houle, Alberta Williams, Nicole Daniels, and Rose Lena Mersasty (Alperin, 2014). The sixth person that I will be examining is Patricia Rose Johnson. Despite not being an Indigenous woman, her memory has impacted my learning in this course. I was first introduced to Patricia by my classmate, John.¹ Patti, as he referred to her, was murdered by the serial killer Robert Pickton. Patti was born on December 6, 1976. John was born six months before her, thus they grew up fairly close together. Patti was also named after John’s mother, Patricia B.² She was last seen on Feb 27, 2001, and traces of her DNA and jewellery were found on the Pickton farm in May of 2005. John recalls Patti’s green eyes and blonde hair. Regardless of her petite body size, John said that Patti was extremely feisty. On the left side of her back, she had two rose tattoos with the names of her children, Eric and Autumn, written inside.³ Unfortunately, John’s description of Patti ran contrary to that of Lincoln Clarkes. A prominent photographer in Vancouver, Clarkes met Patti at a bus stop.⁴ Although he recalls her charming and charismatic personality, it appears he photographed her at a time when she was at her worst.

Figure 1: “Three Women Evergreen Hotel.” ⁵

The picture above (Figure 1) was taken on July 15, 1997, on the steps of the Evergreen Hotel. Patti, on the left, is pictured with two other women. Clarkes tagged his photo as “addiction in Vancouver, “cocaine psychosis,” “heroin,” “sick girls,” “skid row,” amongst others. Personally, this portrayal of Patti made me feel uncomfortable. This image takes away from John’s wholesome perspective of Patti. I could no longer see the Guns and Roses lover, nor the kind and sociable person John described.⁶ Upset with the contrasting descriptions of Patti, I made it my mission to paint her in a better light, John’s light.

Figure 2: “Patti’s Colours.” ⁷ Figure 3: “Patti.”⁸

From left to right are Figures 2 and 3. I used bright colours to illuminate the personality John described. I even included yellow for her blond hair and used different shades of green to represent the colour of her eyes. I wanted this image to be as earthy and as lively as Patti was. In remembrance of Patti, I also listened to a few Guns and Roses songs as I painted this picture in her memory. Looking back now, I was very emotional when I worked on this piece. Listening to her favourite group made this process surreal and it hurt me to know that she was no longer alive to listen to Guns and Roses.

The importance of including Patti in my project was simple. I remember that it was the first week of our course, and Bernie Williams had asked if anyone knew someone who had been missing or murdered. The room was silent as no names came to any of my classmate’s minds. Thus, when John joined our class, he was the only one who had a connection to someone that was murdered. This interested me because I thought, in statistical terms, what is the probability that at least one out of twenty individuals would know someone missing or murdered. Unfortunately, this is not the case for Indigenous women. I noticed a common theme: Most Indigenous Peoples could name at least one person who was either missing, murdered, or both.

After John, Jane joined, and interestingly enough, she had a connection to Alberta William’s. They lived near each other and knew the same people. What surprised me was how traumatized Jane was when telling the class about the disappearance of Alberta. Although they were not close, Alberta’s disappearance distraught Jane. It must have been terrifying for Jane to have seen Alberta on the night of her disappearance. I remember saying to her, “that must have been scary because you cannot help but think, that could have been you.” What I said was in no disrespect to Jane. Rather, it emphasizes my point that this is a common trend among Indigenous women and Indigenous Peoples; they are familiar with the loss of their kin.

Figure 4: “Alberta.” ⁹

Figure 4 illustrates my painting of Alberta Williams. With a few colours, I tried to capture her “kind, loving, and gentle” nature as described by her older sister, Claudia Williams.¹⁰ From Gitxsan Nation, Alberta was the daughter of Lawrence and Rena Williams. Unfortunately, they both passed away not knowing who murdered Alberta. Alberta grew up in a large home with five sisters. Claudia says her mother taught her children a few activities, such as knitting, crocheting, sewing, and baking.¹¹ With love, Rena also taught her daughters the importance of becoming a respectful, patient, forgiving, and honest woman.¹² Following Claudia’s words, it was my goal to incorporate these traits into my painting. What is special about Alberta’s story is that I have read about it in Ray Michalko’s novel, Obstruction of Justice: The Search for Truth on Canada’s Highway of Tears. He was an ex-Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) who worked tirelessly as a private investigator, searching for women who went missing along Highway 16. Michalko had worked closely with Alberta’s family. Claudia recall’s him taking the time to interview a few members of the RCMP.¹³ Unfortunately, many were unable for an interview or unwilling to cooperate with Michalko.

My project began with 8x8 wooden squares. Once the wood was cut, I sanded each one. Soon after, I began the acrylic pour process. This process consisted of mixing my choice of paint colour with my pouring medium, Elmer's glue and water. Once the contents were combined, I added a few drops of silicone in different cups of paint to create cells in my painting. After thoroughly mixing the silicone into the cup, I repeated this process until I was satisfied with the colours that I had chosen. As to which colours corresponded with which missing and murdered women was subjective. Before I began painting, I read the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Truth-Gathering and media sources for Patti. To make this process sentimental and not rushed, I read these sources thoroughly. I wanted to take my time to understand the personalities of the missing and murdered women from the perspectives of their friends and family.

Figure 5: “Ramona.”¹⁴ Figure 6: “Ramona: Final.”¹⁵

Figures 5 and 6 are both pictures of Ramona Lisa Wilson, and this is where I began to run into problems. Figure 5 was the first painting and Figure 6 was the second. I was dissatisfied with the way the first painting looked. I felt that it did not capture Matilda Wilson’s, the mother of Ramona, miracle baby perception of her daughter.¹⁶ After having Ramonas’ brothers and sisters, Brenda did not think conceiving again was possible. To her surprise, she began producing contractions on February 14, 1978, and her Valentines Day baby, Ramona, was born a day later.¹⁷ Like Alberta, Ramona was from the Gitxsan Nation. Her story was important to me because I also discovered her in Obstruction of Justice. I met Ramona in a chapter titled “Who is Ramona Wilson?” When Michalko brought evidence forward about Ramona’s murder, the RCMP responded with that same question posed in the title of the chapter.¹⁸ I was angry that, in a population of 4,500 people, the RCMP lost track of an Indigenous woman’s murder. Their reluctance to do their job as police officers, infuriated the criminology and Indigenous studies student in me. Moreover, the media captured Ramona as a prostitute and a careless person.¹⁹ They did not see her as a daughter, sister, auntie, or friend. Her sister Brenda, however, paints a different picture, noting Ramona as a vibrant and beautiful girl.²⁰ I wanted to capture these traits described by Brenda. In the second painting, I eventually did. I tried my best to paint the hopes and dreams of a young girl whose life was lost too soon.

Figure 7: “Nicole.”²¹

The picture above (Figure 7) represents my painting of Nicole Daniels. According to her friend Isabel Winning, Nicole was a storyteller. She loved art and music, and she often made short stories and drew pictures.²² Moreover, Nicole was tremendously smart. At a nine-months-old, Nicole was walking and before she was one-years-old, she could sing the entire Barney theme song.²³ Sadly, Nicole's death was one of the most gruesome deaths that I have read. Her body unclothed and face down in an alley. Despite the large amounts of alcohol and drugs found in her system, the autopsy report concluded that Nicole froze to death. Winning explains that Nicole's family has a difficult time believing official reports on Nicole’s death.²⁴ It was strange that the number of substances found in Nicole was ruled as self-induced. After viewing Nicole in her casket, Winning, too, believed that Nicole was the victim of foul play.²⁵ Accordingly, her body showed bruises on her arms, legs, and face. I used light and dark colours to contrast Nicole’s unknown truth with that of police records. Amid the dark, the truth will prevail as Nicole’s family work tirelessly to uncover what happened to her on the night she went missing.

Figure 8: “Cherisse.”²⁶

Figure 8 denotes my painting of Cherisse Houle. According to her mother Barbra Houle, she was the youngest of four children. Described as a person who always smiled, I painted her in a fun-loving manner. I imagined her smile lighting up the room, just as a sunny day at the beach. I think my approach to Cherisse’s painting was correct. She loved to dance, roller skate, and she loved her sister Jessica very much.²⁷ Notwithstanding her qualities as a daughter, sister, cousin, niece, and mother, Cherisse’s image was distorted by the media. She was instantly marked as a “drug-addicted prostitute.”²⁸ What the media failed to mention was Cherisse’s pursuit of rehabilitating herself. At one point she even asked for her mother’s help because she wanted to be a good mother to her son.

Figure 9: “Rose.”²⁹

Figure 9 is a painting for Rose Lena Merasty. She was a mother, sister, and daughter. I wanted to paint a picture that captured the beauty her sister Sophie described. Although Rose experienced physical and sexual abuse in the past, she remained vibrant.³⁰ Rose had a bubbly personality, played guitar, and was the ultimate charmer. She also liked to live a posh lifestyle, hence the contrasts of purple with subtle accents of gold. Although Sophie did not know where Rose got her money, Rose had a gold tooth filling and she would often take Sophie out shopping or to lavish dinners.³¹ This painting was meant to capture Rose’s striking and sophisticated personality.

Figure 10: “To All the Missing and Murdered Women.”³²

Figure 11: “To All the Missing and Murdered Women: Final.” ³³

I wanted to pay my respects to the women that I learned about this semester. Deciding which women I would do a painting for was difficult for me. As much as I would like to do a painting for all missing and murdered women, it was not feasible given the timeline. Consequently, the women I have dedicated an individual painting to derived from course material and information from my classmates. As a result, Figures 10 and 11 are paintings dedicated to all the missing and murdered women that I could not include. With this particular piece, the image of my mind was of a tree and its rings, and the first painting did not meet this standard. Thus, I tried again and succeeded the second time with Figure 11. As you can see, the layers are more pronounced in the second painting. This satisfied my idea of each woman acting as a ring. With one painting, I was able to capture the lives of multiple women. Although I feel terrible that I could not pay homage to all the women, this painting indicates that I have not forgotten about them, and this is my effort in keeping their memory alive. So here is to the lost souls, the women who left this earth too soon.

On a final note, this project has been difficult and I have shed tears many times. After reading the testimonies and media sources of each woman, I feel very close to them. I am grateful for this class, History 436: British Columbia, and to Dr. Elise Chenier for allowing me to join. This has been a wonderful journey and it makes me happy to know that my work with the missing and murdered women and Indigenous Peoples will continue outside this class. I want to be honest and note that although this document is complete, I am not done yet. Once I donate these paintings to the Downtown Eastside community, I will be content with my project. After contacting multiple organizations in the Downtown Eastside, I have decided that each of these paintings will travel from one organization to another. The Strathcona Community Policing Centre (SCPC) and Union Gospel Mission (UGM) are open to receiving my paintings. Displaying my artwork allows me to share my perception and the perceptions of the missing and murdered women’s family and friends. I believe that my artwork will offer an alternative image of the sex worker, drug addict, or the “dying Native.”³⁴ To further commemorate the memories of the missing and murdered women, I will also be sure to bring these paintings to the February 14th Women's Memorial March.

Bibliography

Auld, Allison. “Patricia Rose Johnson.” Vancouver Eastside Missing Women. http://www.missingpeople.net/missing_lives_patricia_johnson.htm/ (accessed March 24, 2020).

Ball, David. “Mother of Pickton Victim says cops brushed her off, withheld daughter's possessions.” Vancouver Observer, December 16, 2011. https://www.vancouverobserver.com/politics/news/2011/12/16/mother-pickton-victim-sa-cops-brushed-her-withheld-daughters-possessions.

Clark, Vanessa., Pacini-Ketchabaw, Veronica., and Hodgins Denise, B. “Thinking with Paint: Troubling Settler Colonialisms through Early Childhood Art Pedagogies.” International Journal of Child, Youth, and Family Studies 5, no. 4.2 (2014): 751-781.

Glionna, John. “Light and Darkness in Canada.” Los Angeles Times, June 01, 2003.

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-jun-01-tm-heroines22-story.html.

McDiarmid, Jessica. Highway of Tears. Toronto: Doubleday Canada, 2019.

Michalko, Ray. Obstruction of Justice: The Search for Truth on Canada’s Highway of Tears.

Markham: Red Deer Press, 2016.

Vancouver Eastside Missing Women. “Patricia Rose Johnson.”

http://www.missingpeople.net/patricia_rose_johnson.htm (accessed February 17, 2020).

National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. Reclaiming

Power and Place: The Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered

Indigenous Women and Girls. February 2, 2019. https://www.mmiwg-ffada.ca/final-report/.