THUNDER BAY -- A candlelight vigil and jingle dress healing ceremony drew to a close as the sun set over Spirit Gardens Saturday evening, mourning nine Pikangikum First Nation members lost in a house fire this week.
The cold and stubborn wind on the waterfront peninsula made it difficult to keep some of the candles lit.
Many among the 40 attendees had grown up in Pikangikum. Some are in Thunder Bay attending school while others haven't visited the remote community near the Manitoba border for years.
“I was shocked when I heard about it,” said 20-year-old Kyle Pescal who grew up next door to the house that burned down.
“In the past couple of days, my heart feels heavy and my moods go up and down. I just want to go home and be there for them,” added Craig Owen who lost a good friend in the fire.
“I just wanted to hear the drum because it makes me feel alive. I can hear my heart beat.”
Curry Strang was among those performed drum songs after the jingle dress healing ceremony.
Strang was dressed in a three-piece tan suit with a red tie, as he always does for special events. He hasn't been to school since he heard of the fire from a friend on Facebook.
"He said 'we lost nine people.' I was asking myself, 'how did this happen?'"
That kind of introspection and solidarity was exactly what organizers had hoped would happen. The Ontario Native Women's Association's Raven Linklater ensured attendees were aware mental health supports are available.
"It’s a tragic, tragic event and we need to be supportive as much as we can in any capacity we can," Linklater said.
"Personally, I was just so pained with what happened to that family. It’s three generations and it has got to impact that community greatly. My heart goes out to them and I’d like to do anything I can in my capacity to send positiveness, send prayers and to gather people in a good way."
