THUNDER BAY - Saying goodbye to a loved one is never an easy thing to do, but one local funeral home is hoping the addition of traditional Indigenous practices will help in the grieving process, not just for family members, but the community as a whole.
Jenkens Funeral Home held a ceremony on Wednesday to light a sacred fire that is now included on the property.
“We have within Thunder Bay an increasing Indigenous population and at Jenkens Funeral Home we decided we should reflect some of our services and supplies that we do for Thunder Bay and reflect the fact that we would like to remember our loved ones in a special way,” said Todd Darrach, manager at Jenkens Funeral Home.
“Just under half of the services we provide to families here in Thunder Bay is the Indigenous community, so we decided we should support them as much as possible.”
During the ceremony on Wednesday, elder Gerry Baxter blessed the fire, which will burn for the next 24 hours. The fire will be available to family members during funeral services and other community events and Darrach said it is one of several Indigenous services the funeral home provides, which have been made possible with the help of funeral assistant, Tiffany Byers.
“We have been gifted lately an eagle feather for smudging purposes here at the funeral home,” he said. “Tiffany makes handmade prayer ties that we utilize on a daily basis. We also provide cedar baths for loved ones here at the funeral home.”
“It’s pretty important to us as a group at Jenkens because we offer so much to families, but this was a way we couldn’t offer before,” Byers added. “It is a way they can come and be with their loved ones with the sacred fire.”
Families can request the fire be lit for funeral services, at which time it will also be blessed. According to Byers, the sacred fire is an important tradition for Indigenous people.
“It’s to help with the spirits to make the spirits travel,” she said.
But the sacred fire is not only meant to help grieving family members heal, but to offer healing to everyone, and bring the community together during what can be a very difficult time.
“With many talks of reconciliation in our community throughout the past years, this is a way for the community to come together, celebrate, worship, and uphold traditions that have been in existence for a number of years,” Darrach said.
“We’ve heard nothing but good things from people,” Byers added. “They have been very supportive of what we are doing and a lot of families are thankful for us doing this.”
