LETHBRIDGE – Being an aboriginal woman makes Lauren Crazybull feel she’s at a higher risk of going missing or being killed.
However, the 21-year-old refuses to let herself or other indigenous women fall victim to such a fate.
“This issue in particular, is going to affect our generations negatively when people are growing up without their mothers, sisters and their aunts,” she said.
“That has a huge toll on people when the women in their lives are disappearing.”
An RCMP report found that since 1980, 1,200 aboriginal women have been murdered or have gone missing in Canada. Global News found that in Alberta, 56 cases remain unsolved; 36 homicides and 20 missing persons.
In the summer of 2016, the Liberal government plans to launch an inquiry into the issue. Recent pre-inquiry meetings, held with federal ministers across the country, suggest the number of victims could be significantly higher than first estimated.
READ MORE: More than 1,200 missing or murdered: Bennett
Many families say they believe the number of victims is higher than originally thought because of what they call a history of police negligence, like concluding a death to be a suicide or drug overdose rather than a murder.
“I wouldn’t use the term problem but it’s definitely prevalent,” Const. Violet MacFarlan with the RCMP’s KARE/Pro-Active Team said, when asked about how serious the issue is in Alberta. “We learn from our mistakes if there’s any and we develop best practices and we move forward.”
Alberta’s Minister of Indigenous Relations says he knows the real numbers are much worse.
“Aboriginal women are about three times more likely to be murdered than the rest of the population and that is a fundamental, societal tragedy,” Richard Feehan said.
READ MORE: Alberta welcomes inquiry into missing and murdered aboriginal women
WATCH: Minister Feehan gives input on issue of missing and murdered women.
Crazybull is on a mission to stop what she calls a vicious cycle of missing and murdered indigenous women. She says the death of her late aunt is what drivers her. Jackie Crazybull was the victim of a random stabbing on July 11, 2007 along 17 Avenue in Calgary.
Her other aunt, and Jackie’s sister, remembers that day vividly.
“A group of young males came and they asked her for directions. My cousin told Jackie not to get up and to not talk to them,” Sandra Manyfeathers explained.
However, the three men kept insisting they needed help. Manyfeathers said Jackie then went up to speak to them and was immediately stabbed in the stomach. The vehicle they were in then quickly drove off.
Jackie was one of five people stabbed that day, but was the only one to die from her injuries.
“Our family operated as a whole before Jackie was killed,” Manyfeathers added. “It was like part of that whole was taken and we operate now as family that has been broken and we haven’t been able to heal from what has happened.”
It’s been eight years since the attack and Jackie’s murder remains unsolved. The family says there are several witnesses, security video of the suspects and a description of the vehicle, but nothing has come of the evidence.
“We have good information as to who we believe may be involved in that but not enough information to actually bring that to court,” Insp. Steve Barlow with the Calgary Police Service said.
The thought that Jackie’s killer may never be brought to justice is difficult for both Crazybull and Manyfeathers to accept.
“Tell us what happened because we are still suffering. This is still a horrific part of our lives that we have to live with daily,” Manyfeathers explained.
“Whoever did that is probably walking the streets and Jackie Crazybull doesn’t get to walk the streets,” added Crazybull.
Since her sister’s death, Manyfeathers has held an annual Justice for Jackie walk along 17 Avenue where she was killed. She said she does this so that her name doesn’t fade with the many other missing and murdered aboriginal women.
WATCH: Sandra Manyfeathers talks about her sister Jackie Crazybull’s murder.
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