On Mother's Day, May 10, 2009, Tanya Brooks had final telephone conversations with her family. It would be the last time they would ever speak with her again. A mother of five, Tanya was 36 years old at the time of her murder. She was seen later that evening walking on Gottingen Street in north Halifax, before being found in a school window well the next day. Each year a memorial march gains momentum, strengthening the collective objective to find her murderer.
Sandra Johnson was a pow wow princess from a loving family on the Seine River First Nation. In Thunder Bay, Ontario on the morning of February 13, 1992, 18-year-old Sandra Johnson's naked body was found murdered. There are many theories as to who could have committed the horrible crime, but no justice for Sandra's family.
Tanya Nepinak's disappearance and presumed murder is one of many in a long series of unsolved violent deaths in her family. Tanya's children have been deeply affected, and many of those who love her have become advocates for the MMIWG. A serial killer's confession failed to solve the case of Tanya's murder, as did a search of a Winnipeg landfill. Violence continues to plague the family to this day.
Claudette Osborne-Tyo was 21-years-old when she was last seen in Winnipeg in 2008. The mother of four children, Claudette was abused as a child, and struggled with drug addiction. But her family loved her very much, and have become some of the most powerful advocates and leaders in the support of MMIWG.
Emily Osmond was 78 years old when she was last seen by her nephew on her property on the outskirts of Kawacatoose First Nation, Saskatchewan, in September, 2007. Her family believes she was taken, because Emily's beloved dogs were abandoned, and she told no-one she was leaving. This peaceful woman vanished without a trace.