Sister remembers 'strong girl' slain by husband on day 2 of MMIWG inquiry

Jayda Andre remembers her sister as beautiful, open and kindhearted.

She wasonly 15-years old the last time she saw her sister.

On Wednesday,Jayda shared thestory to the inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women in Yellowknife.

Joni Andre's story is one of domestic violence.

She was 22-years-old when her husband, StanleyItsi, stabbed her to death in Fort McPherson, N.W.T.

"Jealousy played a big role," Jaydasaid to thecommissioners and counsel in front of a group of about 40 people.

Itsi wouldn't let Joni hang out with her friends, according to Jayda. He often made accusations against her, but Joni was "madly in love" with Itsi,Jayda said.

Joni died on Jan. 4, 2004.

Joni and Itsi were fighting in front of a number of family members, and it got so bad that others left the house,Jaydasaid.

"[Itsi] ran out and ran past them, and left the home and took off running," said Jayda, who didn't know thiswas happening at the time.

She had been playing in the snow with her friends and recalledlaughing and sharing a single alcoholic cooler with them.

Joni lay on the floor bleeding for more than an hour, Jayda said.

There was a problem with the phone lines in the community that night and nobody could get through toemergency dispatch in Yellowknife, according to court documents.

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Jaydadoesn't remember feeling worried when she was told her sister had been stabbed.

"She was a really strong girl," she said.

"Really physically tough. I was like, 'OK, I'll go see her.I know she is fine.'"

But she saidthe RCMP officer on duty was crying when she arrived at the health centre.

"He held onto me and told me I would be OK," she said.

"She was gone. I never got to see her take her last breath. I never got to tell her how much I loved her."

'Justice system in the North is bullshit,' sister says

Itsi was charged with second-degree murder and convicted of manslaughter. He served eight years in jail, minus time served, which resulted in a five-year sentence.

"[Itsi] blamed others," Jayda said, expressing anger at his sentence.

Joni's son was two-years-old when she died and she'll never get to see the milestones, like graduation, in his life, Jayda said.

"The justice system in the North is bullshit," she said.

"You can do anything you want and just get eight years in jail and you'll be out ...I have to keep reminding myself he has to live with it, too."

Limited counselling options in Fort McPherson

Jayda said that after the death she didn't seek support from counsellors in the community they were Itsi's family members.

"Even though I had nothing against them I wasn't going to go talk to them," said Jayda, saying it would be tooweird.

Jayda eventually was able to track down counselling options in Yellowknifeand used them a few times.

However, she couldn't continue because she had become a mother and couldn't afford to travel with a child.

"You shouldn't have to go look for different phone numbers and find other places to go find counselling," she said.

At the end of her testimony, Jaydareflected on why she chose to participate in the inquiry.

For 15 years, she refused to open up to that place and time in her life. She buried it.

She said she is onlystarting to really deal with the trauma caused by the loss of her sister.

"Who knows, there might be somebody listening back home, across Canada, wherever," said Jayda.

"They might be going through this, too. And maybe they are lost like me, ashamed, embarrassed to seek help."

More from MMIWGYellowknife:

• 'This has been the hardest job of my life,' says MMIWG inquiry commissioner
• 'Maybe this would have never happened':The story of Alice Black
• 'My mother didn't die for nothing,' says Inuvik woman ahead of Yellowknife MMIWG inquiry
• Nearly 4 years on, a grieving mother prepares to tell her story again