The Strength of a woman - Mary Lou Lapratte, Ipperwash hero

If there is a hero to be found in the Ipperwash story, it is a remarkable woman by the name of Mary-Lou LaPratte. She lived through it all: crime and intimidation from natives over an invalid land claim against her home and those of her fellow residents; an eventual Supreme Court victory; threats; a home invasion; an assault; ongoing OPP refusal to enforce the law; DND failure to enforce the law; abandonment by the OPP when they fled Ipperwash to save themselves after the death of Dudley George, and psychological trauma so acute during the events of September 1995 that her hair fell out in chunks.

Despite the unbelievable stress and intimidation that caused most Ipperwash residents to suffer unbearable outrages in silence, Mary-Lou refused to be bullied. She spoke out, again and again, on behalf of her fellow citizens who were too afraid to speak for themselves.

Read the full story here Much more at www.voiceofcanada.ca