UQO joins Quebec Native Women to map missing and murdered Indigenous women

Tashi Farmilo

Quebec Native Women (QNW) and the Université du Québec en Outaouais unveiled a provincial map in Quebec City on March 31 documenting 124 cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and two-spirit people in Quebec since 1950, including cases in the Outaouais.

The map covers the period from 1950 to 2026 and was funded in part by Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada. Nearly 220 life stories were researched and honoured in total.

The Outaouais accounts for 11 cases, placing it fifth provincially behind Nunavik at 39, Montréal at 13, and Montérégie, Nord-du-Québec, and Côte-Nord at 10 each. Of the 124 cases province-wide, 96 involve women and girls who were murdered, 14 people remain missing, and 14 others were reported missing before being found dead.

The numbers tell only part of the story. QNW says the data unequivocally demonstrate that violence against Indigenous women, girls, and two-spirit people is not a thing of the past but a current, persistent, and systemic crisis, with many cases remaining invisible or difficult to document due to structural, administrative, and historical limitations.

Data from the Quebec Association of First Nations and Inuit Police Directors shows that in 2024 alone, more than 2,500 violence-related cases were opened across Quebec's 22 Indigenous police services. Director Pierre Simard said that figure captures only what enters the system. "The overall picture presented today reveals the gravity of the situation and a reality that can no longer be treated as a series of isolated cases. Too much violence still remains hidden," he said, adding that the project points toward an approach based on collaboration between police services, community organisations, and institutions.

UQO sociology professor Audrey Rousseau, who worked on the project, said it "documents a reality that remains too often overlooked in Quebec, by combining the strengths of quantitative and qualitative research between the university and the community. Despite the challenges related to accessibility and the fragmentation of institutional data, particularly police data, this project demonstrates the urgent need to act in order to obtain a more accurate picture of the situation and support the implementation of concrete actions."

QNW president Marjolaine Étienne said the map sheds light on a reality Indigenous communities have long been aware of. "Behind every circle on the map is a woman, a girl, a two-spirit person, a family, and a community. Today, we are not here merely to present data, but to issue a call for collective action. The safety of Indigenous women must become a priority for society as a whole and for the next government of Quebec."

An interactive version of the map is available at www.faq-qnw.org.