Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (Canada)
Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) describes a crisis in Canada involving the disproportionate disappearance, murder, and ongoing violence experienced by Indigenous women and girls. Indigenous women in Canada are killed at more than six times the rate of non-Indigenous women. Hundreds of cases remain unsolved or uninvestigated.
The crisis has roots in colonial policies including the residential school system, forced removal of Indigenous children from their families, and systematic marginalisation. A 2019 National Inquiry concluded that what was happening constituted genocide.
The CBC's Missing & Murdered: Finding Cleo investigates one case within this broader crisis: Cleo Nicotine, a Saskatchewan Cree girl forcibly removed from her family in the 1970s and placed in the American foster care system. Host Connie Walker, herself of Saulteaux First Nation, brings both personal and journalistic authority to the investigation.
Podcasts covering this case
Essential investigation by Connie Walker — the best starting point
CBC's Connie Walker investigates the Sixties Scoop through the disappearance of Cleo Semaganis Nicotine.
Read our reviewFrequently asked questions
What is the MMIWG crisis?
MMIWG refers to the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls in Canada. Indigenous women are killed at more than six times the rate of non-Indigenous women. A 2019 National Inquiry found the pattern constitutes genocide. Many cases remain uninvestigated.
What is the Finding Cleo podcast about?
Finding Cleo investigates the case of Cleo Nicotine, a Cree girl from Saskatchewan who was removed from her family and placed in the American foster care system in the 1970s. The podcast is part of CBC's Missing & Murdered series and is hosted by journalist Connie Walker.