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

AuthorConstance Backhouse
Pages193-226

EChapterF
CANADAS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.

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