Searching for Mackie
In the summer of 2013, Mackie Basil, a 27 year old mother from the Tl’azt’en Nation in British Columbia, vanished. Her disappearance is connected to a disturbing pattern. Over eighty First Nation women have been murdered or never found off of what has become known as the Highway of Tears, Rt 16, which stretches across the province from Prince George to Prince Rupert.
In 2016, I visited with Mackie’s family to join their search for her, and drove Rt 16 to spend time with other families who had lost their loved ones. I remained haunted by Mackie’s brother, Peter’s, efforts to find his sister in the vast wilderness outside of the small community of Tachie, so I returned in 2019.