Search for missing Indigenous leaders leads to archives
By Ian Bryce
In June 1967, M茅tis leader Jim Brady and Cree councilor Abbie Halkett went on a prospecting trip in northern Saskatchewan by Lower Foster Lake. They vanished without a trace. With many people suspecting murder, the mystery of Brady鈥檚 and Halkett鈥檚 disappearance continues to concern northern Saskatchewan鈥檚 Indigenous community 52 years later.
The mystery also occupies 911吃瓜 First Nations Studies Chair Deanna Reder鈥攁 specialist in Indigenous literature and founding member of , an Indigenous literary archive.
As part of the President鈥檚 Faculty Lecture Series on Wednesday, Jan. 15, Reder will speak about Brady鈥檚 and Halkett鈥檚 disappearance, its impact on the community and her connection to them. She will also discuss Brady as a writer, along with Cree and M茅tis storytelling traditions and the responsibility of storytellers and story recipients.
鈥淭hese are people who have been remembered by their families and community but mainstream Canada has not remembered them,鈥� says Reder. 鈥淏oth were leaders in their community and for them to be forgotten is its own kind of tragedy.鈥�
Reder鈥檚 connection to the mystery is personal: her uncle was a family friend of Brady and her grandmother healed Halkett from blindness when he was a young man. Three years ago, Reder鈥檚 uncle asked for her help in finding their bodies.
Joining the search was her cousin Eric Bell, the owner of La Ronge Emergency Medical Services and a Lac La Ronge Indian Band member, as well as Michael Nest, a scholar who researches corruption in the mining industry and beyond. Together, the team traced prospecting archives, interviewed community members and generated significant leads to find the missing bodies.
Reder鈥檚 research also lead her to the Glenbow Archives where she learned of Brady鈥檚 extensive library, which included his unpublished literary work. This has been a significant addition to The People and the Text project.
鈥淓very time you hear a story there are these layers underneath it but what makes it Cree is the context鈥攖he relatives and connections that you have,鈥� says Reder. 鈥淭his is a story that鈥檚 going to be retold and have an impact on future generations.鈥�
While the reasons for their disappearance remain unanswered, Reder says that learning of Brady and Halkett鈥檚 past went beyond solving a mystery.
鈥淭he end isn鈥檛 to find the answer鈥攖he end is to respect all of the relationships as we honour the fact that Brady and Halkett have been missed not just by their families but by northern Saskatchewan.鈥�
Reder will give her lecture 鈥�The Obligations of Stories: Missing Jim Brady and Abbie Halkett鈥� at 911吃瓜鈥檚 Vancouver campus on Wednesday, Jan. 15. The lecture is free with registration.
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Full recording of the lecture .