Mapping the missing: Indigenous groups launch new Quebec-wide research project

To mark National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and 2SLGBTQ+, several groups launched a partnership to draw attention to Indigenous people who’ve gone missing or been killed in Quebec.

The Iskweu Project, based out of the Native Women’s Shelter of Montreal, Quebec Native Women and a professor at the Université de Québec en Outaouais have been collecting data since 2020. They noted a lack of information available.  The unique partnership will combine existing data from multiple sources about the disappearance and murder of indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQ+ people in Quebec into one data bank.

“When I was doing my research, I was going through old archives, news archives and I saw really old cases from the other provinces,” said Iskweu Project coordinator, Janis Qavavauq-Bibeau.

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“Everywhere in Canada it’s undercounted,” she added.

Over the next two to three years, researchers will build an interactive map of Quebec showing when and where indigenous people have been murdered or gone missing.

“If we don’t do the work, it’s never going to get done. And if we band together, we’re stronger,” said executive director of the Native Women’s Shelter, Nakuset.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "If we don't do the work, it's never going to get done. And if we band together, we're stronger," said executive director of the Native Women's Shelter, Nakuset.

She adds addressing the issue using their own recourses and expertise is important to their community.

“Through the different sources of funding that we received, we’re opening it up not just to Indigenous women that went missing but to men, because no one is doing that work,” said Nakuset.

The data will also take into account systemic deaths such as Joyce Echaquan, which aren’t included in government data.

“We all suffered intergenerational trauma,” added Qavavauq-Bibeau. “We all suffered the same violence, loss, grief and this is healing to be all together today.”

The project will also aim to highlight how difficult it is for communities to obtain information about their loved ones.

“Some of the families said that the police told them if you find something, please contact us. They contact the police, and the police don’t get back to them,” said Qavavauq-Bibeau.

The research is completely independent. The federal and provincial governments are not part of the project.