Finding Dawn
Encyclopedia
Finding Dawn is a 2006 documentary film
by Métis
filmmaker Christine Welsh
looking into the fate of an estimated 500 Canadian Aboriginal
women who have been murdered or have gone missing over the past 30 years.
The film begins with the story of Dawn Crey: one of 60 women, a third of them Aboriginal, who have disappeared from Vancouver
's Downtown Eastside
over a 20 year period. Crey's remains were among those found on property of British Columbia serial killer Robert Pickton
. 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 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, which runs between Prince Rupert, British Columbia
and Prince George, British Columbia
, 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
, 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
, where she teaches courses in indigenous women’s studies and indigenous cinema.
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
by Métis
Métis people (Canada)
The Métis are one of the Aboriginal peoples in Canada who trace their descent to mixed First Nations parentage. The term was historically a catch-all describing the offspring of any such union, but within generations the culture syncretised into what is today a distinct aboriginal group, with...
filmmaker Christine Welsh
Christine Welsh
Christine Welsh is a Métis filmmaker, feminist and academic in Canada. She has produced, written and directed films for more than 30 years. Welsh's film credits include the 2006 National Film Board of Canada documentary Finding Dawn, about murdered and missing Canadian Aboriginal women...
looking into the fate of an estimated 500 Canadian Aboriginal
Aboriginal peoples in Canada
Aboriginal peoples in Canada comprise the First Nations, Inuit and Métis. The descriptors "Indian" and "Eskimo" have fallen into disuse in Canada and are commonly considered pejorative....
women who have been murdered or have gone missing over the past 30 years.
The film begins with the story of Dawn Crey: one of 60 women, a third of them Aboriginal, who have disappeared from Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
's Downtown Eastside
Downtown Eastside
The Downtown Eastside is one of the oldest neighbourhoods in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is known as "Canada's poorest postal code"....
over a 20 year period. Crey's remains were among those found on property of British Columbia serial killer Robert Pickton
Robert Pickton
Robert William "Willie" Pickton of Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada is a former pig farmer and serial killer convicted of the second-degree murders of six women. He is also charged in the deaths of an additional twenty women, many of them prostitutes and drug users from Vancouver's...
. 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 sister and brother, and their involvement in the annual Women’s Memorial March
Women’s Memorial March
The Women’s Memorial March is an annual event held on Valentine's Day that originated Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, to call attention to missing and murdered women in the district...
in Vancouver.
The film then focuses on BC's Highway 16, known as the Highway of Tears, which runs between Prince Rupert, British Columbia
Prince Rupert, British Columbia
Prince Rupert is a port city in the province of British Columbia, Canada. It is the land, air, and water transportation hub of British Columbia's North Coast, and home to some 12,815 people .-History:...
and Prince George, British Columbia
Prince George, British Columbia
Prince George, with a population of 71,030 , is the largest city in northern British Columbia, Canada, and is known as "BC's Northern Capital"...
, 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
Saskatoon is a city in central Saskatchewan, Canada, on the South Saskatchewan River. Residents of the city of Saskatoon are called Saskatonians. The city is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Corman Park No. 344....
, 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
Janice Acoose
Janice Acoose is a Canadian author, newspaper columnist, filmmaker, indigenous language advocate and professor of indigenous and English literature at First Nations University of Canada in Saskatchewan.-Early life and family:...
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
University of Victoria
The University of Victoria, often referred to as UVic, is the second oldest public research university in British Columbia, Canada. It is a research intensive university located in Saanich and Oak Bay, about northeast of downtown Victoria. The University's annual enrollment is about 20,000 students...
, where she teaches courses in indigenous women’s studies and indigenous cinema.