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A review by amarj33t_5ingh
Highway of Tears: A True Story of Racism, Indifference and the Pursuit of Justice for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls by Jessica McDiarmid
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
5.0
It feels disrespectful giving such a tragedy-laden book a rating, but I believe that the overall comprehensiveness of this book is deserving of recognition. Particularly for the poignant subject it deals with.
Highway 16 intersects British Columbia often acting as the sole route between its widely sparsed indigenous communities lacking access to essentials that are found in neighboring Vancouver. Compounding this further is the seemingly placid wilderness abutting the region.
But this serene setting is the historic witness of indigenous oppression, the trauma of which has been inherited by current generations. From the 1950's onwards, the region has become a hunting ground as well as a dumping ground for transient serial killers preying upon indigenous native women compelled to hitchhike or travel alone across highway 16.
McDiarmid not only lays bare the discrepancy with which indigenous murder victims and their white counterparts are treated but also a multigenerational culture of police and political apathy that has signaled to predators that the indigenous women of highway 16 are fair prey.
This is a tragic book. It is seemingly the most comprehensive and lucid account of the tragedy unfolding on the highway hitherto despite the first cases being reported from the 1950's, but also because it underscores the racial prejudice with which cases are treated and families sidelined by the authorities.
To her credit, McDiarmid also incorporates several interviews with lead investigators highlighting their frustration with their superiors at the lack of resources allocated to them and the inability of government agencies to actually achieve practical on-the-ground results despite regurgitative pledges.
McDiarmid ends on a cautious note showcasing political promises pledging change. But will change ever truly emerge? As of 2023, another slain female victim has been located on the highway. The tragedy continues unfolding. Highway 16 bisects British Columbia from the wilderness, but it may as well bisect its indigenous residents from the rest of the world for all the care they have ever been shown.
Highway 16 intersects British Columbia often acting as the sole route between its widely sparsed indigenous communities lacking access to essentials that are found in neighboring Vancouver. Compounding this further is the seemingly placid wilderness abutting the region.
But this serene setting is the historic witness of indigenous oppression, the trauma of which has been inherited by current generations. From the 1950's onwards, the region has become a hunting ground as well as a dumping ground for transient serial killers preying upon indigenous native women compelled to hitchhike or travel alone across highway 16.
McDiarmid not only lays bare the discrepancy with which indigenous murder victims and their white counterparts are treated but also a multigenerational culture of police and political apathy that has signaled to predators that the indigenous women of highway 16 are fair prey.
This is a tragic book. It is seemingly the most comprehensive and lucid account of the tragedy unfolding on the highway hitherto despite the first cases being reported from the 1950's, but also because it underscores the racial prejudice with which cases are treated and families sidelined by the authorities.
To her credit, McDiarmid also incorporates several interviews with lead investigators highlighting their frustration with their superiors at the lack of resources allocated to them and the inability of government agencies to actually achieve practical on-the-ground results despite regurgitative pledges.
McDiarmid ends on a cautious note showcasing political promises pledging change. But will change ever truly emerge? As of 2023, another slain female victim has been located on the highway. The tragedy continues unfolding. Highway 16 bisects British Columbia from the wilderness, but it may as well bisect its indigenous residents from the rest of the world for all the care they have ever been shown.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Blood, Stalking, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Abandonment