The Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs (UBCIC ) is joining other Indigenous groups and tribal leaders in asking the ABC Network to “address and rectify its incomplete depiction of violence against women and girls in its prime-time thriller Big Sky.”
Set in Montana, the show is actually filmed in unceded Indigenous territory in B.C. Among the issues being raised about the program is the failure to address and acknowledge that a disproportionate majority of missing and murdered women and girls are Indigenous.
Along with the UBCIC, the Rocky Mountain Tribal Leaders Council, representing Montana’s eight federally recognized Indian tribes, also echoed those concerns about the program. The question of why the show isn’t being filmed where it’s set has also been raised.
UBCIC secretary-treasurer Kukpi7 Judy Wilson noted in an official news release that institutions from law enforcement to the entertainment media should consult with First Nations when they address violence against women and girls, and not ignore the missing and murdered women and girls tragedy: The multi-generational crisis requires “an influential corporation like ABC to demonstrate some awareness and cultural competency regarding it.”
The UBCIC women’s representative, Melissa Moses, echoed that sentiment, noting the many similarities between B.C.’s Highway of Tears and the novel Big Sky is adapted from, The Highway, by author C.J. Box.
“Unfortunately, the violence and gender-based genocide represented by the Highway of Tears is horrifically prevalent in Montana where 26 per cent of missing persons have been identified as Native American, despite tribal members only making up seven per cent of the population,” wrote Moses.
“ABC now has the invaluable opportunity to be our ally, to show respect and compassion to victims and impacted family members and loved ones, and to help inform the public in both Canada and the United States of this international and national crisis and dark truth.”
The UBCIC adds its voices to the request already being made by the Rocky Mountain tribal council and others to see an information frame added to the end of future Big Sky credits directing viewers to the documentary Somebody’s Daughter to access factual information on the missing and murdered women and girls crisis.