When Inuit artist Annie Pootoogook’s body was found in the Rideau River by Ottawa police on Sept. 19, they initially announced that her death was not being viewed as suspicious. A few days later, they decided to investigate it as such.
The idea that a body found in a river isn’t suspicious seems like an obvious misstep on the part of the police. Some members of Pootoogook’s family have come forward to say that they immediately felt her death was suspicious, and that she had been attempting to leave a relationship with a man who the police say is not a suspect in their investigation.
Pootoogook’s case is not unique, and emphasizes a broader problem in both the local and national community.
Dismissing an Inuit woman’s body found in a river, especially after her family’s concerns, and not discipling an officer for making outright racist comments about how Indigenous women have shorter lifespans due to their “lifestyles,” indicates the treatment of Indigenous women isn’t any better now than it was 10 years ago
Continuing to pump out statements about the importance of ending the epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women suggests that the Ottawa police care more about their image than the very real lives that hang in the balance.
The public, especially Indigenous communities, cannot be expected to put their trust in law enforcement when they see no effort on their part. If the police want to show that they have more than just hollow words, they have to do better for Pootoogook, her family, and the countless others like her.
