Reviews with content warning for Drug abuse - Highway of Tears: A True Story of Racism, Indifference, and the Pursuit of Justice for Missing and Murdered Indigenous

Compelling writing about one of Canada's most shameful contemporary issues regarding the treatment of Indigenous people and Indigenous women specifically. A call to arms, but in the manner of emphasizing the inhumane nature of ignoring this issue and failing to deal with it.

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haylethal's review against another edition

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challenging dark informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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marieprem08's review against another edition

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emotional informative sad medium-paced

5.0

Such an important subject that need to be taken more seriously by the RCMP. I liked that the author wasn’t part of the story, since she isn’t indigenous. It was important that she pushed indigenous voices and emotions at the front line of this book.

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empusa's review against another edition

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informative sad tense medium-paced

4.0

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annemaries_shelves's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

Highway of Tears is a comprehensive and personal account of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) of Canada, particularly along Highway 16 in Northern British Columbia.

I want to be clear that McDiarmid is not Indigenous; she is white. According to the Introduction by Mary Teegee, McDiarmid approached the Carrier Sekani Family Services organization (who have worked closely with the families impacted by the Highway of Tears) to document the history of the Highway of Tears and "len[d] her voice in the fight for justice for those we can no longer hear."

This book so deftly blends first-hand accounts of the victims' stories and the impact on their families and communities in combination with a broader examination of the systemic issues facing Indigenous girls and women in Canada (from poverty and intergenerational trauma due to residential schools and colonization, lack of social and public services, indifference and outright hostility from settler/colonizer communities, and the utter failures of the RCMP (and police forces) to help these families and bring justice to these women and girls.

The structure of the book introduces us to the remote beauty and rough realities of northern BC, and takes us chronologically through the prominent cases of the Highway of Tears starting from the (primarily) 1990s and 2000s. Within chapters focusing on specific missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, and in separate dedicated chapters, McDiarmid builds the context for why this happens at all. How Canada is a colonial state and the realities of settling northern BC (the racial tensions that so many white people claim don't exist in the process of investigation), and how the Canadian government, and by extension, the RCMP, systematically destroys Indigenous communities, cultures, languages, and social systems. I particularly appreciated the sections on the RCMP as I didn't fully understand the culture of RCMP and why it operates the way it does (essentially as a military organization in often municipal roles). I knew the RCMP first existed to "settle" Canada and displace Indigenous communities, but I didn't fully understand all the nuances. In the second half of the book, as we progress into the 2010s, McDiarmid documents the efforts to raise awareness and prompt action by the victims' families, the Native Women's Association of Canada, the Carrier Sekani Family Services organization, the Highway of Tears Symposium, and the Commission's National Inquiry in the MMIWG. So many of the families walked kilometres upon kilometres, told their stories again and again (exacting an incredibly emotional toll on their health), and tried in vain to get a country that simply doesn't care to listen.

And we should care. I think everyone should read this book. And then go read the National Inquiry in MMIWG's Final Report and the Calls to Action by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (my next steps after this review). I also encourage people (and myself) to read books on this subject by Indigenous authors and support and uplift Indigenous art, and culture, and stories, and people.
We need to do better.

Sidenote: Some (Goodreads) reviews have noted they felt the structure disorganized but I liked how it flowed together and built off ideas throughout the text. McDiarmid does a decent job of refreshing our memory of particular cases and families and the inclusion of photos helps familiarize us with and further humanize the people discussed.

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