Southwestern Manitoba First Nations lament loss of AMC Grand Chief Cathy Merrick

Southwestern Manitoba First Nations leaders are remembering the grand chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Cathy Merrick as a role model, community builder and trailblazer.

Merrick treated everyone with respect and had a gift for making people feel welcomed, loved and listened to, says former Canupawakpa Dakota Nation chief Lola Thunderchild. As a leader and friend who had a gift for bringing people together and champion the rights of those in need.

"Her heart was always out there, you know, standing up for the people. She was the people's leader," Thunderchild said.  "She did it with such grace and compassion and thoughtfulness." 

Merrick, 63, was pronounced dead after collapsing outside of Winnipeg's law courts Friday, shortly after denouncing the acquittal of a Manitoba corrections officer charged in the 2021 death of William Ahmo, a First Nations man who was an inmate at the Headingley Correctional Centre.

Thunderchild got to know Merrick when she was elected as the first female grand chief in 2022. They would lean on each other for support when things were serious on the Assembly of Manitoba Chief's Women's Council.

The group worked to advance the well-being of women, children families and communities by advocating for issues like Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. Thunderchild said they often talked of the challenge of balancing their roles as female leaders with their roles within their families and communities.

"She did all of that with such grace," Thunderchild said. "It's a very tough role as a female leader in this day and age at the higher level of politics."

Sophia Smoke, daughter of Dakota Plains Wahpeton Nation hereditary Chief Donny Smoke, says she's lucky because she often saw Merrick at community events.

Smoke appreciated how Merrick respected and connected with community members. These relationships were reflected in Merrick's constant advocacy, because she never let herself be so far removed from the issues as to lose her passion, said Smoke. 

"We can't forget about the impact of just being there for communities and for the people," Smoke said. "We can get wrapped up in the work, in the papers and the politics … but one of the most important things is just for you to be there and she was such a star at that."

Sioux Valley Dakota Nation chief Vince Tacan says his community recently rejoined the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs largely because of Merrick's leadership. She made Sioux Valley Dakota First Nation feel welcomed again after leaving the organization around 15 years ago.

"In talking to Grand Chief Merrick, she indicated she'd try to represent us similar to what she does for the other First Nations, and I believed her," he said.

Her skills as an effective leader are a lesson in perseverance as she rose from Pimicikamak Cree Nation counsellor and chief, to Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs grand chief, Tacan said. She was able to draw attention to issues like housing, overcrowding and missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, in a way people understood.

Legacy

As a young Dakota woman in Canada, Smoke says she always felt unrepresented and unprotected in politics. She said that changed under Merrick, who was a trailblazer for Indigenous female leadership in the modern century.

"It's easy to feel as though no one's looking out for you," Smoke said. "But I always felt that she could see us and she could hear us and that she wasn't going to let our stories go untold and she wasn't going to let us be silenced."

Merrick played an integral role in showing young Indigenous people and Indigenous women that they can do it too, Smoke said.

Thunderchild says Merrick's legacy is showing people they can seize opportunities to be advocates and be a voice for those in need.

"She shared her heart with you and you felt that she really did care about everybody."

Thunderchild hopes to see Merrick's legacy honoured by ensuring other young women can build on it and become leaders.

Merrick showed the power of advocacy, said Tacan, in getting the government to search the Prairie Green landfill for the remains of two Indigenous women.

"We need more role models like her for women and young women … we're facing some pretty hard issues and maybe a male perspective is not always the best," Tacan said. "We need those advocates. We need people that have a well-rounded understanding of all the issues and particularly how some of these things impact First Nations women."