''Finding Dawn'' is a 2006

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...

by Métis filmmaker

Christine Welsh Christine Welsh is a Métis Canadian filmmaker, feminist and associate professor at the University of Victoria. Early life Welsh was born and raised in Regina, Saskatchewan. She is the great-grand-daughter of Norbert Welsh, the famous Metis bu ...

looking into the fate of an estimated 500 Canadian Aboriginal women who have been murdered or have gone missing over the past 30 years.

Subject

The film begins with the story of Dawn Crey: one of 60 women, a third of them Aboriginal, who have disappeared from

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

Downtown Eastside The Downtown Eastside (DTES) is a neighbourhood in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. One of the city's oldest neighbourhoods, the DTES is the site of a complex set of social issues including disproportionately high levels of drug use, homele ...

over a 20-year period. Crey's remains were among those found on the property of

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

serial killer

Robert Pickton Robert William "Willy" Pickton (born October 24, 1949) is a Canadian serial killer and former pig farmer. He is suspected of being one of the most prolific serial killers in Canadian history. After dropping out of school, Pickton left a butcher ...

. However, not enough of Dawn's DNA was found to list her as one of the murder victims at the trial. The film introduces viewers to Dawn's sister and brother, and their involvement in the annual Women's Memorial March in Vancouver. The film then focuses on BC's Highway 16, known as the

Highway of Tears The Highway of Tears is a corridor of Highway 16 between Prince George and Prince Rupert in British Columbia, Canada, which has been the location of many disappearances and murders beginning in 1970. The phrase was coined during a vigil held ...

, which runs between

Prince Rupert, British Columbia Prince Rupert is a port city in the province of British Columbia, Canada. Its location is on Kaien Island near the Alaskan panhandle. It is the land, air, and water transportation hub of British Columbia's North Coast, and has a population of 12 ...

and

Prince George, British Columbia Prince George is the largest city in northern British Columbia, Canada, with a population of 74,004 in the metropolitan area. It is often called the province's "northern capital" or sometimes the "spruce capital" because it is the hub city for ...

, looking at the fate of Ramona Wilson. Wilson was one of nine women – all but one of them Native – who have gone missing or been murdered on that stretch of road since the 1990s. Welsh also filmed in

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Yellowhead Highway, and has served as th ...

, where a woman named Daleen Kay Bosse disappeared in 2004. She went missing in May but a criminal investigation didn't begin until the following January. In the film, Daleen’s parents and friends talk about their difficulty in getting Saskatoon police to take Daleen’s disappearance seriously. Native rights activists Janice Acoose and Fay Blaney are interviewed in the film. Christine Welsh has produced, written and directed films for more than 30 years. She is an associate professor at the

University of Victoria The University of Victoria (UVic or Victoria) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. The university traces its roots to Victoria College, the first post-secondary insti ...

, where she teaches courses in indigenous women’s studies and indigenous cinema.

Impact

''Finding Dawn'' is referenced in the later 2015 documentary ''

'', which notes its impact on native viewers.

References

External links

Watch ''Finding Dawn'' at NFB.caWomen Make Movies
* {{IMDb title, 4981458 2006 films Documentary films about violence against women English-language Canadian films National Film Board of Canada documentaries Documentary films about First Nations Feminism in British Columbia Films shot in Vancouver Métis film Documentary films about Indigenous rights in Canada Documentary films about crime in Canada Highway of Tears Violence against Indigenous women in Canada Women and death 2006 documentary films Métis feminism Murder in British Columbia 2000s English-language films 2000s Canadian films

Subject

Impact

See also

References

External links