THUNDER BAY – Exactly 10 years after his brother Reggie Bushie’s body was pulled from the river, Ricki Strang knelt at the edge of the Neebing-McIntyre Floodway.
Alone in his thoughts, yet surrounded by hundreds of friends, family and supporters, he removed his shoes and slowly waded waist-deep into the steadily cooling waters, the temperature in the air hovering just above the freezing mark.
Releasing a handful of tobacco, he paused, turned and emerged from the waters and climbed the riverbank directly across from Silver City Cinema, the same spot where a decade earlier Reggie Bushie was found.
It was a hard day, said Strang, who led a gathering nearing 200 people from Dennis Franklin Cromarty High School to the river, part of Wednesday’s Day of Remembrance in hounour of his brother, one of seven youth with ties to the school who died between 2000 and 2011.
“It was a tough day, an emotional day,” said Strang, who was with his brother on the night he went into the river and clearly overwhelmed by the anniversary of his death.
“He was a great kid. It’s tough, but a lot of people care and they want (the deaths) to stop.”
Among the walkers was Landan Wesley, a 19-year-old DFC student from Cat Lake First Nation.
It wasn’t easy taking part in the ceremony, seeing the anguish that still exists in the faces of Bushie’s family, a decade after he died.
“You could see the tears coming out of their eyes and it made me feel a little down,” Wesley said, adding he’s hopeful the inquest into the deaths of the seven fallen feathers, as the students have come to be known, provides answers and solutions to ensure it never happens again.
Ashley Mary McKay is a 16-year-old Grade 12 student at DFC, said she broke down during the ceremony at the river’s edge.
“When I saw the brother of Reggie go into the water I couldn’t help myself. I let my emotions get to me and it was a touching moment, very heartbreaking,” McKay said.
She was glad to share the moment, if only to shed light on a problem that has been plaguing the Indigenous community in Thunder Bay far too long.
“I feel we need to raise awareness at our school especially because we are very important school We here are like a family. We’re not strangers to each other. That’s what DFC is all about,” said McKay, adding she tells her younger friends to say safe when they’re not at home.
Nishnawbe Aski Nation Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler says he vividly remembers the night Bushie’s body was found.
A decade later, it’s no easier to process, he said.
“It’s just that tremendous sense of loss that we all experienced when Reggie was lost. When he was found it brought back a lot of memories, good and bad.”
Watching Strang walk into the water is something he’ll never forget.
“It’s just one of those moments where it just hits you. I’m sure it had an impact on those of us who witnessed that moment and I think it just shows that (Ricki) still carries a heavy load. That’s something we hope through the ceremony today we can begin to address the grief and the loss we all have,” Fiddler said.
Students at the school were also given a copy of Tanya Talaga’s book Seven Fallen Feathers, an in-depth look at the students who died, and later enjoyed a feast in the DFC gymnasium.
