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Photo by Crystal Greene

ᑖᓂᓯ  ᓂᐚᐦᑰᒫᑲᓇᐠ  ᐁᑿ  ᓂᑑᑌᒼᑎᐠ᙮ 

tânisi niwâhkômâkanak êkwa nitôtêmtik,

Hello my friends and relatives,

When I read Crystal Greene's story from last week about the Indigenous women presumed to be in the Winnipeg landfill, I was blown away by the skill and heart she brings to her reporting. For the first time while reading about this tragic and enraging situation, I felt like I had the whole picture.

Crystal is IndigiNews' inaugural investigative reporting fellow, a fellowship shared with Ricochet Media and Pivot Quebec. She's Anishinaabe and Swampy Cree from Winnipeg, and her extensive education in journalism, along with her outstanding work, made her application to our fellowship stand out.

With stories as sensitive as this one, I often reflect on the challenges reporters face in balancing their professional duties with their mental and emotional wellbeing. The emotional toll must be especially heavy for Indigenous women reporters. I sat down with Crystal to ask her how she navigated the challenges of being an Indigenous woman writing about MMIW+.

Photo by Crystal Greene

EF: How did you approach covering such a sensitive and emotionally charged topic?

CG: While I can try to remain detached, you know, that's not always possible because the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous people impacts all of us. And so, as I was working on this story and trying to keep myself focused and somewhat detached, there were a couple times where I had to stop and take a breath and I felt like I needed to cry.

So I just allowed myself to cry, and took that moment for myself, to allow myself to process those feelings. And then I would go back to the story after.

EF: What strategies do you use to maintain your wellbeing while reporting on difficult subjects?

CG: I think that just by living a balanced life is what will help me to tell these stories and continue sharing these stories. It can be challenging to do this if you're going through things in your personal life. I haven't always been able to do it. 

Going to ceremony, smudging and singing and drumming – these are all things that keep me grounded. 

Photo by Crystal Greene

EF: Can you share any moments during your reporting process that resonated with you?
CG: Last year I had planned on telling this story and I had I pitched it to other media outlets. At the time, nobody was interested in picking it up because it was being reported on by a lot of the media. Although a lot of the media was non-Indigenous, some editors didn't quite understand how important it was to pick up freelance stories from Indigenous reporters like myself that were trying to tell this story. And so a whole year later I have a chance to actually see it published.

In my last few visits to Winnipeg to visit family, I visited Camp Morgan and Camp Marcedes and and walked in some marches and attended some rallies. I recorded video of people's speeches and took photos and I'm glad I did that because those videos and  photos are what I ended up using for this piece.

Edited for length and clarity.

I'm so grateful that Crystal never gave up on trying to tell this story, and that she did so with integrity and care. You can read it here.

ᑲᐦᑭᔭᐤ ᓂᐚᐦᑰᒫᑲᓂᑎᐠ

kahkiyaw niwâhkômâkanitik 

All my relations,

Aunty Eden

Eden Fineday is a nêhiyaw iskwew and the publisher of IndigiNews. She is from the Sweetgrass First Nation in what is now known as Saskatchewan, Canada and is a grateful guest on the lands of the Tsawwassen First Nation.

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