Canada's First Capital 'L' Lesbian Sexual Assault: Yellowknife, 1955
Author | Constance Backhouse |
Pages | 193-226 |
EChapterF
CANADASFIRSTCAPITALL
LESBIAN SEXUAL ASSAULT:
Yellowknife
Tprosecutions for sexual assault during the t wentieth
centurybutthecaseofReginavMooreappearstohavebeentherstin
Canadian history where the complainant and the accused were both female.
SamesexrelationshipshadnotgoneunnoticedofcoursePolicehadusednui
sancebylawsandvagrancychargestoharasswomencrossdressingasmen
for years.Prosecutionsagainstgaymenforbuggeryindecentassaultupon
amaleandactsofgrossindecencyalsostretchedbackmanyyears But
thisseemstohavebeentherstprosecutionofawomanforindecentassault
uponafemaleThepresidingjudgeswhocharacterizedthecaseashighly
unusualdescribedthebehaviourasLesbianismwithacapitalL
ANewcomerinYellowknife
Tinformation about Willimae Moore, the woman at the
centre of this unprecedented prosec ution. Like many of the residents of Yel
lowknifeshewasnewtothetownAnAmericancitizenbybirthshehad
ownintothenorthernminingcommunityonSeptemberHertrav
ellingcompanionwasBeatriceGonzaleswhohadbeenhiredasthevice
principal for the Yellowknife High School. Willimae had found work as a
casualandtemporarytypistwiththefederalgovernmentsDepartmentof
NorthernAairsandNaturalResourcesThetwowomenlivedtogetherin
theschoolteachershouseonFranklinRoadAlthoughherageisuncertain
it seems that Willimae was in her fort ies.
ナヘネCarnalCrimes
NFB photo , pu blished i n Susan Jack son, ed., Yellowknife, N.W.T.: An Illustrated History (Sechelt: Nor’West, ) at
GiantMineYellowknifeaerialview
NWT Archives , N-/:
Yellowknifeaerialview
CanadasFirstCapitalLLesbianSexualAssaultナヘノ
ThetownintowhichWillimaeMooreandBeatriceGonzalesewatthe
startofthefreezingseasonwasontheedgeoftheArcticCirclenexttoGreat
SlaveLake Travellers arrived by plane mostlyCa nadian Pacic Airways
DCsyingairmilesnorthfromEdmontononightspricedatre
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
planewasontimeAlthoughitwasoendescribedasachildoftheair
ageYellowknifewassustainedduringthebriefsummerbywaterfreight
transport, which ferried in materials ordered a year ahead. Residents dined
on dehydrated and canned vegetables and fruits, supplemented with cari
bousteakandptarmiganThosewholivedthereintheiesrecalledYel
lowknife as memorable for its small houses, board sidewalks, and absence of
long distance phones.
AsthetravelwearyWillimaeMooreandBeatriceGonzalesdisembarked
from the plane with their dog, t hey must have been struck by the stark land
scapestuntedsprucetreesclingingtotheglacierscarredrockyoutcropping
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
nusyeightdegreesCelsiusAsoneofthebushpilotsreminiscedWhen
itwasameretwentybelowwedthinkBoythisisagreatdaywecan
pushbackourparkahoodsThecolourfulauroraborealisalsoknownas
theNorthernLightsmadethenightskymagical
Thepopulationhadreachedininacommunitythatwasover
whelminglywhiteaerracialtensionsforcedtheAboriginalpeopletomove
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
streakofindividualityandnonconformityThetownspeopletookpride
intheircamaraderieandthethrillofisolationreferringtoareasother
thanYellowknifeastheoutside Social norms were substantially looser
thaninthesouthAstenographerwhoarrivedinrecordedhersurprise
when she discovered that some of the coupleswere shackedupa new
term to herwithout benet of marriage And many of the si ngle women
whocameaerherdescribedfendingoamorousassaultsfromdrunken
miners, taxi drivers, and pilots, who seemed to take a licence for wayward
behaviour from the boisterous dri nking culture.
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