Indigenous woman had ‘a heart of gold’

Fact she died at hands of Edmunston police has hit family, community hard

VANCOUVER—“Stay golden, peeps!”

Grace Frank stops sobbing for a moment as she recalls what she remembers as her granddaughter Chantel Moore’s catchphrase.

It was fitting, Frank said, because Moore, herself, had a heart of gold.

The 26-year-old woman from Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation was killed early Thursday morning when police arrived at her home in response to a request to check on her well-being. Edmundston police say their officer encountered a woman with a knife making threats. She was shot and died at the scene despite attempts to resuscitate her.

Moore had recently moved to Edmundston, N.B., from Vancouver Island, to be with her mom — Frank’s daughter — and her own five-year-old daughter.

The news of Moore’s shooting death came when protests have erupted around the world in response to the death of George Floyd under the knee of a police officer, an event that brought decades of questions about racism and police violence to the fore, not just in America, but in Canada.

The reality that Moore, a young Indigenous woman, had died at the hands of officers hit Frank, particularly hard. She questioned why officers called to check on Moore’s wellbeing would ever be led to fire a gun.

More questions were raised about the police response on Friday, when the Edmundston police apologized for a CTV interview with Insp. Steve Robinson, in which the officer appeared to chuckle in response to a question about how many times Moore had been shot.

The police called it a “poor reaction on camera” in a statement.

In the statement, Robinson said he understands the frustration from the interview, adding he feels sympathy for Moore’s family.

Gord Johns, the member of parliament for the riding in which Moore lived, said such incidents strain relations between police and Indigenous people.

“How can they trust police when this is the kind of attitude being displayed?” said Johns, who is also a longtime friend of the family, and is helping them push for justice in the case. The family is reeling. “Never in my life did I ever expect to go through something like this,” Frank said in a phone interview. “I just watched that video on George Floyd and I really cried when I saw that. And to have this happen to my granddaughter — it’s so shocking.”

“We’re all talking. We’re all supporting each other and we want justice,” Frank said. “I really think that this police officer needs to be charged; he can’t get away with this.” Moore was a person who made friends everywhere she went with her “very, very, very cheerful” attitude, and insistence on helping others. Frank remembered how “Chan,” as she was sometimes called, would drop what she was holding and run to hug a friend or family member she hadn’t seen in a while.

Frank remembers Moore, at the age of five, coming into her great-grandmother’s kitchen and announcing that they would need another carrot peeler, because she wanted to help with the task.

She never lost that character trait.

“We had potlatches and with our family hosting a potlatch (an Indigenous gift-giving feast), of course she’s going to help,” Frank said. “With other tribes she would get up and go and start helping without being asked.”

Moore also had difficult times in her life. Frank said she was adopted out to another family in her childhood years, and returned to live with Frank at the age of 14.

The hardship informed her career aspirations.

“Chantel used to talk to me about getting involved with counselling and stuff like that,” Frank said. When Moore moved to New Brunswick, she was working on making some changes in her life, Frank said, including going to college and seeing more of her daughter, who was being raised by Moore’s mom.

She started buying textbooks to prepare for college.

Moore’s death has devastated the community, Nuu-ChahNulth Tribal Council president, Judith Sayers, said.

“It’s harder because you’re having small groups of people, because, normally, everybody would go sit over in one house and talk and be together,” Sayers said. “It’s not quite that way; people are in different houses. This grieving process is hard.”