MMIW inquiry: Chief Janice Henderson wants her mother, aunts remembered
The chief of Mitaanjigamiing First Nation in northwestern Ontario says the federal government's inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women is long overdue.
Chief Janice Henderson's own family has been devastated by violence — her mother was killed, and two of her aunts also met violent deaths.
"It was difficult living without a mom in your life. Someone that would always be there to protect you. To hold you. To make you feel safe," she told CBC News.
"I just have memories from when I was a little girl that she was there, she was there to comfort me and take care of me.," Henderson said. "And after that, there's just a huge gap. She just wasn't there. But it wasn't her choice."
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In 1978 Henderson began trying to reconnect with her mother, Edith Quagon, but never really got the chance. That was the year she found out her mother, then living in Minneapolis, had been killed.
That same year, her aunt Kathleen McGinnis was also killed. And in 1993, a third sister, Sarah Mason, also died in a violent way.
She said she decided to share her story because she wants her mother to be remembered.
Henderson said that, after everything that's happened to her family, she was happy to hear that an inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women is going ahead.
"It's about time. I think it's very important that this happens because it's not only for our family but there's so many families that justice needs to be dealt with," she said.
Henderson said she hopes the inquiry will involve ample consultation with families of victims — and that it will ultimately help keep indigenous people safe.