The Murder of Cindy Gladue: Performativity, Language, and Power.

The way in which an individual is labelled by others is a very powerful tool in constructing one’s identity (Qu’emi, 2016). Members of the courtroom addressing the victim in a disrespectful manner can negatively influence the jury’s perspective and create bias (R v Barton, 2017; Qu’emi, 2016). Not only did the members of the courtroom remove Ms. Gladue’s name, but they actively and repeatedly addressed her in court as a ‘Native girl’ and ‘Native prostitute’, ultimately identifying her by only those characteristics (R v Barton, 2017). Presenting her to the court and public as a ‘Native prostitute’ was seen as highly prejudicial by the court interveners and the public (R v Barton, 2017; Nahwegahbow, 2015).

It is interesting to note that even when the Canadian media and courts tried to correct the naming of Cindy Gladue, they used the term "Ms Gladue" and could not call the deceased Cindy Gladue. There was a constant use of language to dehumanize Cindy Gladue, after she was brutally murdered.

Language is not mimetic. It is performative. I draw on Judith Butler's writing regarding language to discuss the performative nature of gendered and racialized acts of naming in a court of law. Butler's writing makes reference to JL Austin's, How to Do Things With Words. Words and language is not neutral, it is performative. When someone says, "It's a girl!" or "It's a boy" when a child is born, these speech acts are performative. They do something. The same is true of "With this ring, I thee wed." The language supports identity construction and the interpolation of subjects into a certain social order. Speech Acts are also inextricable from actions.

In this short video, I discuss the performative nature of racist-sexist naming in the Canadian criminal justice system, in trials of Bradly Barton, accused of murdering Cindy Gladue, a Cree person, who was murdered in Edmonton, Alberta.