'Keep Rebecca's name alive,' friend of Winnipeg woman slain by serial killer says at vigil
'The pain of losing my sister, Rebecca Contois, never goes away': Stephanie Contois
WARNING: This story contains distressing details.
Family and friends gathered around a sacred fire on Friday to share heartfelt stories in honour of a young First Nations woman slain by an admitted Winnipeg serial killer over two years ago.
About 35 community members attended the vigil for Rebecca Contois, 24, who was a member of O-Chi-Chak-Ko-Sipi First Nation, also known as Crane River, located on the western shore of Lake Manitoba.
People smudged their bodies with an eagle feather near the Rainbow Butterfly monument that commemorates missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people in Kildonan Park.
The vigil began with an opening prayer as a bowl filled with tobacco ties, which are a pinch of tobacco wrapped in red cloth, were passed around for people to place in the fire in memory of Contois.
Travis Barsy, a family friend, joined others by singing and drumming during a pipe ceremony near the fire.
"The pain of losing my sister, Rebecca Contois, never goes away, as it feels it just happened yesterday," Barsy said during a speech on behalf of Stephanie Contois, one of her sisters, and the family.
"She didn't deserve to be put in a garbage bin and to end up in a landfill — only garbage belongs there. Women are not garbage, they are sacred."
The partial remains of Rebecca Contois were found in a North Kildonan back lane garbage bin in May 2022. The following month, police said they had found more of her remains at the Brady Road landfill in south Winnipeg.
Jeremy Skibicki, 37, is charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of Contois, Morgan Harris, 39, and Marcedes Myran, 26, as well as a fourth as-yet unidentified woman who has been given the name Mashkode Bizhiki'ikwe, or Buffalo Woman, by community leaders. Police have said they believe she was in her 20s and was Indigenous.
Contois, who grew up in Winnipeg with seven siblings and her parents and had a daughter of her own, was remembered by her family in their speech as a caring woman who loved to laugh, draw and bake.
People who attended the memorial were invited to feast on bannock, celebrate with their relatives and ancestors, share stories about Contois and remember her in a good way.
Stephanie Contois and a man wearing a red shirt with "Justice for Rebecca" written above a photo of her placed a purple cloth into the fire. As it burned, they wiped tears from their eyes and hugged each other.
"This is a time where we can remember Rebecca, show her and her family that they are loved and that they are cared for and that they are not forgotten," Barsy said.
"It is important that we keep Rebecca's name alive."
'Living this tragedy every day'
Barsy also believes there's been a lack of effort to bring missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people home.
He said it's important to remember that there may be other bodies in the Brady Road landfill, such as that of Tanya Nepinak, a 31-year-old mother who has been missing since 2011.
Winnipeg police have previously said they believed Nepinak's body was dumped in a garbage bin and brought to Brady Road landfill, after she went missing in September 2011. They spent six days searching for the 31-year-old at the landfill in 2012, without success.
Barsy says timely and complete searches are needed to bring the women home.
"It needs to happen, and it needs to happen without reports. It needs to happen just as quickly as it would for a non-Indigenous person," he said.
Barsy also said people need to keep pushing for all levels of government to implement the 231 calls to justice made in the 2019 report on the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
Contois's family continues to experience a lot of pain and grief, and much more healing that needs to happen, said Barsy.
The family hopes they will get justice on July 11, when Court of King's Bench Chief Justice Glenn Joyal is expected to deliver his decision in Skibicki's trial.
While Skibicki, 37, has admitted to killing all four women, his defence has argued he should be found not criminally responsible for the killings because of a mental disorder.
"I pray that we are getting closer to that time where we can maybe close a door and start to move forward in a little ways, and so I think we're all kind of holding our breath for the day of the verdict and then the sentencing," said Barsy.
"They are going to have to continue living this tragedy every day."
WATCH | Vigil honours Rebecca Contois's memory:
Support is available for anyone affected by MMIWG or by the latest reports. An independent, national, toll-free support call line is available 24 hours a day to provide support for anyone who requires assistance: 1-844-413-6649. The service is available in English, French, Cree, Ojibway and Inuktitut.
Individuals can also access immediate mental health counselling and crisis intervention services at the Hope for Wellness helpline by calling 1-855-242-3310 or online at www.hopeforwellness.ca.
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