Family of murdered Tanya Brooks asks anyone with information to tell the police

Tanya Brooks

Brooks’ family gathered at the Mic Mac Friendship Centre on Gottingen Street yesterday, only a few blocks away from where Brooks’ body was found on May 11, 2009. They traveled from the Millbrook First Nation to a press conference to mark International Women’s Day, and to call attention to the over 500 aboriginal Canadian women who are missing or have been murdered.

Brooks’ sister, Maggie Brooks, expressed her frustration that no one is in custody for the killing.

“As of today with the Halifax Regional (Police) there has been no arrests made in her murder,” she said. “We urge anyone who has, or may have any information that has not already spoken to police to please come forward.”

Cheryl Maloney, president of the Nova Scotia Native Women’s Association, said the statistics of murdered and missing aboriginal women in Canada is evidence of unfair and unequal treatment.

“Aboriginal women are five times more likely to die violently,” Maloney said. “Aboriginal women need to be full partners… in the battle against violence, poverty, and discrimination.”

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Read this article here.

Numbers Offer Information About Inequality Between Sexes


I find that a blog posting that quotes numbers are the most educational. Numbers can support a lie (polls are a great example), but if you gather enough numbers from different sources, it can paint a very clear picture.

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If I were an incarcerated youth, I would find that the inmate population was representative of the population overall. Although Native youth represent approximately 6% of the total population, Aboriginal youth represent 33% of youth imprisoned in sentenced custody and 21% of youth on probation. (Statistics Canada, 2007-2008)

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