Canada's First Capital 'L' Lesbian Sexual Assault: Yellowknife, 1955

• Author: Constance Backhouse
• Pages: 193-226



EChapterF

CANADASFIRSTCAPITALL

LESBIAN SEXUAL ASSAULT:

Yellowknife

Tprosecutions for sexual assault during the t wentieth

centurybutthecaseofReginavMooreappearstohavebeentherstin

Canadian history where the complainant and the accused were both female.

SamesexrelationshipshadnotgoneunnoticedofcoursePolicehadusednui

sancebylawsandvagrancychargestoharasswomencrossdressingasmen

for years.Prosecutionsagainstgaymenforbuggeryindecentassaultupon

amaleandactsofgrossindecencyalsostretchedbackmanyyears But

thisseemstohavebeentherstprosecutionofawomanforindecentassault

uponafemaleThepresidingjudgeswhocharacterizedthecaseashighly

unusualdescribedthebehaviourasLesbianismwithacapitalL



ANewcomerinYellowknife

Tinformation about Willimae Moore, the woman at the

centre of this unprecedented prosec ution. Like many of the residents of Yel

lowknifeshewasnewtothetownAnAmericancitizenbybirthshehad

ownintothenorthernminingcommunityonSeptemberHertrav

ellingcompanionwasBeatriceGonzaleswhohadbeenhiredasthevice

principal for the Yellowknife High School. Willimae had found work as a

casualandtemporarytypistwiththefederalgovernmentsDepartmentof

NorthernAairsandNaturalResourcesThetwowomenlivedtogetherin

theschoolteachershouseonFranklinRoadAlthoughherageisuncertain

it seems that Willimae was in her fort ies.

ﾅﾍﾈCarnalCrimes

NFB photo , pu blished i n Susan Jack son, ed., Yellowknife, N.W.T.: An Illustrated History (Sechelt: Nor’West,  ) at 

GiantMineYellowknifeaerialview

NWT Archives , N-/:  

Yellowknifeaerialview

CanadasFirstCapitalLLesbianSexualAssaultﾅﾍﾉ

ThetownintowhichWillimaeMooreandBeatriceGonzalesewatthe

startofthefreezingseasonwasontheedgeoftheArcticCirclenexttoGreat

SlaveLake Travellers arrived by plane mostlyCa nadian Pacic Airways

DCsyingairmilesnorthfromEdmontononightspricedatre

turn. Because the routes were generally mi lk runs, with stops at every town

along the way, it could take seven hours to reach Yellowknife, even if the

planewasontimeAlthoughitwasoendescribedasachildoftheair

ageYellowknifewassustainedduringthebriefsummerbywaterfreight

transport, which ferried in materials ordered a year ahead. Residents dined

on dehydrated and canned vegetables and fruits, supplemented with cari

bousteakandptarmiganThosewholivedthereintheiesrecalledYel

lowknife as memorable for its small houses, board sidewalks, and absence of

long distance phones.

AsthetravelwearyWillimaeMooreandBeatriceGonzalesdisembarked

from the plane with their dog, t hey must have been struck by the stark land

scapestuntedsprucetreesclingingtotheglacierscarredrockyoutcropping

of the Canadian Shield, and wild mosses growing in the bush. Newcomers

were usually staggered by the weather. The harsh winters produced light

snow for months on end, and temperatures that varied between four and mi

nusyeightdegreesCelsiusAsoneofthebushpilotsreminiscedWhen

itwasameretwentybelowwedthinkBoythisisagreatdaywecan

pushbackourparkahoodsThecolourfulauroraborealisalsoknownas

theNorthernLightsmadethenightskymagical

Thepopulationhadreachedininacommunitythatwasover

whelminglywhiteaerracialtensionsforcedtheAboriginalpeopletomove

to Detah, across the bay. More than half the workforce was employed in the

Con and Giant gold mines. Virtually all the white residents of the isolated

town came from somewhere else. Their uni fying characteristic was a strong

streakofindividualityandnonconformityThetownspeopletookpride

intheircamaraderieandthethrillofisolationreferringtoareasother

thanYellowknifeastheoutside Social norms were substantially looser

thaninthesouthAstenographerwhoarrivedinrecordedhersurprise

when she discovered that some of the coupleswere shackedupa new

term to herwithout benet of marriage And many of the si ngle women

whocameaerherdescribedfendingoamorousassaultsfromdrunken

miners, taxi drivers, and pilots, who seemed to take a licence for wayward

behaviour from the boisterous dri nking culture.