I hadn't returned to this site since my last postings, but, being here now I feel I should address what I've said and how it was received.
Others had mentioned Project KARE and on April 2nd, Desespere said "I hope Karen was not the sex worker referred to in 1975". In May Waabzy replied to this "no indication that this young girl was working the streets". No indication? I wanted to make it 1000% clear that Karen was absolutely NOT involved in any sort of lifestyle that might have made her more accessible to the same variety of predators who are preying upon the women who fall into sex trade lifestyles as a matter of survival. Chris, KARE's own website states Project ?KARE? is an investigational unit, created with the highest priority to examine the deaths of several ?High Risk Missing Persons? who have been found in the surrounding rural areas of the City of Edmonton.
On Aug 14th Oilers_4ever had brought up the Ukrainian ancestry of her father and wondered why she was on the list of victimized Aboriginal women. I meant to answer that post. Upon reading back I can see that Waazby had addressed the question but that there had been an error of some sort in her posting that left it looking like a quote with no reply.
Adrian "Why should it even bother you, that Karen Ewanciw is of Aboriginal descent? What the hell led you to that conclusion?
Waazby has clarified that "An Aboriginal person is not determined by the QUANTUM of blood that runs through their veins BUT RATHER how THEY IDENTIFIED in life. Were they born to one or more parents who were Aboriginal/decent? Were they adopted from an Aboriginal home into a Non Native home?" I never knew Karen, but, I did know Lori, Cathy and Wendy. Their mother's ancestry was in no way a part of their self identity. Adding her to a 'list' felt opportunistic.
Waazby, you've responded to my post with "also, there are a lot more reasons why "womenin this particular group more likely to be placed in precarious and vulnerable situations becaue of the environment WE are raised in" - racism is rampant in our society and Aboriginal women and girls are seen as "less important" to society in general, and those who kill us, know they have a higher liklelihood of getting away with murder" I refuse to believe that today's society accepts "just another Indian" as a reason to NOT be diligent in the pursuit of justice in a crime. I do though concede that some portions of society shrug because the women in the victimized group continue with the high risk lifestyle in spite of the obvious danger. Contrary to the ridiculous conclusion that Waazby formed I am NOT one who feels that. Perhaps those who do don't understand that spreading your legs for a stranger is less a career choice and more the desperate choice made by a woman (or young man for that matter) with very damaged self esteem and few other options in order to feed her children or, more often, her addiction. My cousins are Metis. My aunt and uncle were violent alcoholics. Each of my cousins have fallen into their own addictions. The eldest chose cocaine which quickly took her modelling career from the studio to the streets. Thankfully, she received help out of the lifestyle and treatment for her addiction before becoming a statistic.
It offends ME that you imply that more of the victims of predators are aboriginal due to racism. They are all WOMEN! I would hazard a guess that they share much of my cousin's history. Born into violence, abuse and addiction they've learned to detatch and devalue themselves at an age too young to blame on society in general. The fault, generally, lies within their own family. To segregate any number of them to a 'list' by race or heritage feels wrong and unproductive if we're trying to heal the divisions that made it acceptable, in the past, to ignore their deaths. When I say 'because of the environment that they're raised in" I am not only voicing my opinion, but, the opinion of several aboriginal souls who 'escaped' (their words, not mine) reserve life.
I was feeling rather defensive on the family's behalf. I had just read a half year of postings that I felt intruded upon the family's privacy. Headstones & photos? The disposition of these are as the family wants them to be. Heaven's, someone even mentioned that Karen's family was 'dysfunctional' and I felt they'd implied Walter was a substandard parent. Be it as it may, these again are not our business and have no bearing at all on Karen being killed. Her sister, Cathy, was among the group who discovered Karen's body. Every time the police reopened the investigation or there was any media attention it hurt her terribly. I recall when they were filming the CrimeStoppers episode and she phoned me near to tears. She understood that the police want to be able to bring this bastard to justice, but, the public scrutiny into their very personal tragedy was very difficult for her. I don't apologize for taking a protective position.
Topic: Karen Ewanciw - April 24, 1975 - Age 11 - Edmonton - KARE (Read 3474 times)
