There is a lonely stretch of road formally known as Highway 16 in British Columbia that connects the isolated communities of Prince Rupert and Prince George. However, it is better known as the "Highway of Tears" due to the staggering number of women and girls that have disappeared on it through the decades. A large majority are indigenous and therefore not considered to be high-priority cases by the Canadian government or police. McDiarmid winds the stories of the missing with the history of settler colonialism and racism that has resulted in the overwhelming indifference to the targeting of those most vulnerable. This is a heartbreaking but essential read that illustrates why indigenous women and girls experience high rates of violence and questions why we allow such torture to run rampant and unchecked.Publisher's description:
For decades, Indigenous women and girls have gone missing or been found murdered along an isolated stretch of highway in northwestern British Columbia. The corridor is known as the Highway of Tears, and it has come to symbolize a national crisis. Journalist Jessica McDiarmid meticulously investigates the devastating effect these tragedies have had on the families of the victims and their communities, and how systemic racism and indifference have created a climate in which Indigenous women and girls are overpoliced yet underprotected. McDiarmid interviews those closest to the victims and provides an intimate firsthand account of their loss and unflagging fight for justice. Examining the historically fraught social and cultural tensions between settlers and Indigenous peoples in the region, McDiarmid links these cases to others across Canada—now estimated to number up to four thousand—contextualizing them within a broader examination of the undervaluing of Indigenous lives in the country. Highway of Tears is a piercing exploration of our ongoing failure to provide justice for the victims and a testament to their families’ and communities’ unwavering determination to find it.