First Nations people are seeking comfort in their customs and traditions as they say good-bye to Grand Chief Cathy Merrick who died suddenly last Friday.
It happened outside the Winnipeg Law Courts building where Merrick, the first female leader of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC), was talking to reporters about two court cases when she said she felt dizzy and fell to the ground.
Fire and paramedic crews arrived, performed chest compressions and carried Merrick away on a stretcher to an ambulance, but she did not survive.
AMC, which represents 63 First Nations and an estimated 172,000 people, said her death “has deeply affected our collective community”.
It is organizing a sunrise ceremony in Winnipeg Wednesday before Merrick is set to lie in state at the Manitoba legislature.
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Cathy Merrick remembered with love and sadness
“This sacred gathering will be a time to offer prayers for healing, strength, and guidance as we come together in our shared grief,” AMC said in a statement. “We call upon all bundle carriers to join us at the sacred circle, where pipes will be lit at daybreak.
“Let us raise our pipes together in a collective prayer for strength and healing.”
Each community has its own ceremonies, but, in general, bundles are sacred items, teachings and medicines. Some bundle carriers have teachings of the pipes, while others with song and drum, or are gifted as prayer and medicine holders.
Merrick was Cree from Pimicikamak (Cross Lake) First Nation, which is located 520 kilometres north of Winnipeg.
Her family is hosting a candlelight ceremony Tuesday evening at the Law Courts building beginning at 7 p.m.
Meanwhile, Wednesday’s early morning ceremony is scheduled to begin with a sunrise song as the pipes are lit at Oodena Circle at The Forks, AMC said in a statement.
“As First Nations people, we have long understood the power of prayer in helping us navigate times of great sorrow and pain,” the statement added. “The recent loss of one of our cherished leaders, a grandmother with a kind and soft heart for her people, is a stark reminder of the harsh realities that continue to affect our communities.
“Yet, through our traditions and ceremonies, we can find strength to move forward.”
AMC extended an invitation to spiritual leaders of all faiths and traditions to participate.
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said the decision to have Merrick lie in state at the legislature was made in consultation with her family as well as the leadership of Pimicikamak where she was a former chief.
Former chief of Pimicikamak
“She moved the needle in the direction of righteousness and justice and kindness, and also reconciliation,” Kinew said earlier this week.
Merrick, 62, will be lying in state in the ceremonial room at the Manitoba Legislative Building where the public may pay their respects between noon and 5 p.m. Wednesday and sign a book of condolences.
Visitors will be able to sign the book between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. for the rest of the week. After the public has had a chance to sign, the book will be gifted to the family, the province said in a news release Tuesday.
The flags at the legislature will remain at half mast until her funeral in Cross Lake on Saturday, the province added.
Merrick was elected as the head of the chiefs’ assembly in 2022.
She supported families of the victims of serial killer Jeremy Skibicki, pushing long and hard for authorities to search a landfill where the remains of two of the four Indigenous women are believed to be.
She also championed reform of the child welfare system, and called for better transportation, health care and other services in First Nation communities.
With files by The Canadian Press
