50 years later, a Cree poet grieves for murdered teen Helen Betty Osborne, others targeted by hate

This First Person article is the experience of Marily Dumont,an acclaimed poet and educator. For more information about CBC's First Person stories, please see the FAQ.

Marilyn Dumont never knew Helen Betty Osborne.

But when Osborne, a 19-year-old Cree woman, was murdered in The Pas, Man., in November 1971, Marilyn Dumont a young Cree woman in rural Alberta felt the ugly pain of the racism that fuelled the teen's death.

Years later, Dumont went on to become an acclaimed poet and educator.

Her poem, simply called Helen Betty Osborne,honours and mourns the shy, soft-spoken teenager and others like herwho have been targetedby hate.