Grand chief Merrick to lie in state at legislature: premier

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This article was published 07/09/2024 (406 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitobans will be able to pay their respects to the late Cathy Merrick, the first woman elected to lead the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, on the grounds of the legislative building before a funeral takes place in her home community of Pimicikamak Cree Nation.

The morning after her sudden death, Premier Wab Kinew announced the AMC grand chief would lie in state with the blessing of her family.

“There are so many lives that she touched,” Kinew said at a news conference organized at Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak’s Winnipeg headquarters on Saturday.

“Not everybody is going to have a chance to come to Pimicikamak to mourn her so we want to have a forum for you to express your grief and an opportunity for you to pay her tribute.”

Pimicikamak, also known as Cross Lake, is about 500 kilometres north of Winnipeg.

Kinew said more details will be released in the coming days.

Merrick was rushed to the hospital after collapsing outside the Winnipeg law courts on Friday afternoon. She had been speaking to reporters about corrections officer Robert Jeffrey Morden’s acquittal in the 2021 death of Headingley jail inmate William Ahmo.

The outspoken advocate for Indigenous rights was pronounced dead shortly afterwards. She was 62.

Tributes poured in from across the country in the 24 hours after the announcement.

Lt.-Gov. Anita Neville said she was heartbroken by the untimely death of a “thoughtful, firm and decisive” leader and friend in a statement issued by her office on Saturday.

Federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh, who is in Winnipeg this weekend to drum up support in the Elmwood-Transcona byelection, took a moment to acknowledge the loss of a “powerful voice” at a morning campaign event.

The state of collective mourning prompted Tahl East to text her son – one of the coordinators of an inaugural “Smudge the Streets” event in the West End on Saturday – to make sure the celebratory parade was still on.

East was assured that the high-profile loss reinforced the need for a weekend gathering to smudge, dance, drum and share a meal.

The grandmother of two wore black and a ribbon skirt decorated with red bands, as well as embroidered eagle feathers and handprints, to honour Merrick – who is survived by her husband, three children and eight grandchildren.

During her tenure at AMC, Merrick lobbied provincial and federal politicians to support a search of the Prairie Green Landfill to recover the remains of Marcedes Myran and Morgan Harris.

Merrick is being remembered for her role in supporting the families of the women brutally murdered by convicted serial killer Jeremy Skibicki, and calling for dignified burials for their loved ones.

“(Merrick) was a huge proponent and advocate of healing,” East said, noting the grand chief often attended community events. “I think this is the way she would’ve wanted us to continue healing.”

East carried a bucket of burning sage, cedar and tobacco as she walked around the West End alongside about 100 others.

The medicines contain emotional and physical healing components, she said, likening cedar to “an antiseptic” that “cleanses our space and our souls and our minds and opens them up.”

A trail of smoke followed the group as members made their way along Sherbrook Street, Ellice Avenue, Balmoral Street, Sargent Avenue and Langside Street. The walk ended with a round dance and feast at the Magnus Eliason Recreation Centre.

“A little smudge takes you a long way… When I smudge, it really lifts my spirits above my head and I love my life and I love myself for who I am,” said Gayle Pruden, better known by friends and neighbours as “Kookum Gayle.”

The two-spirit leader smudges first thing every morning and Saturday’s ritual was accompanied by a prayer for Merrick.

Pruden said the late grand chief was a humble and supportive leader who wanted to “lift up” the two-spirit population.

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“Everybody needed to cleanse and this is what we do in Indigenous culture when new seasons start or new beginnings – we like to do a cleanse,” said Mappy Troller, cultural support coordinator at Resource Assistance for Youth.

RaY and Spence Neighbourhood Association put on the event to give residents ready access to medicines and to host a visible celebration of Indigenous culture. The community-serving organizations were inspired by a similar event in the North End.

RaY’s Breda Vosters said losses are heavy, hard and happen far too frequently in the community she serves.

“Being able to come together like this and have a moment of celebration after a heavy loss, I think, helps people grieve and helps people build resiliency,” Vosters added.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca

Maggie Macintosh
Education reporter

Maggie Macintosh reports on education for the Free Press. Originally from Hamilton, Ont., she first reported for the Free Press in 2017. Read more about Maggie.

Funding for the Free Press education reporter comes from the Government of Canada through the Local Journalism Initiative.

Every piece of reporting Maggie produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.