‘Keep Rebecca’s name alive,’ friend of Winnipeg woman slain by serial killer says at vigil

Posted on June 22, 2024 by Peggy

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.”

A man stands outside in front of a monument wearing a purple shirt that reads, "Justice for Rebecca Contois" at a vigil. — Travis Barsy, one of many community members who attended a vigil for Rebecca Contois on Friday evening, said it’s important that her name is not forgotten. (Tessa Adamski/ CBC)

The partial remains of Contois were found in a North Kildonan back lane garbage bin at Brady Road, a city-run landfill in 2022.

Jeremy Skibicki, 37, is charged with killing 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 is remembered as a mother, sister, friend, cousin and auntie. She was very caring and loved to laugh, draw, bake and listen to different kinds of music, the family wrote in their speech.

Contois grew up in Winnipeg with seven siblings, her parents and childhood friends. She had a daughter.

A woman wearing a red-coloured ribbon skirt invited the crowd to feast on bannock, celebrate with their relatives and ancestors, share stories about Contois and remember her in a good way.

Stephanie 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.

A smiling young woman in a purple tank top sits with her hand resting on a raised knee. — Rebecca Contois, 24, was a member of O-Chi-Chak-Ko-Sipi First Nation, also known as Crane River, located on the western shore of Lake Manitoba and grew up in Winnipeg. (Submitted by Darryl Contois)

“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.”

Barsy said there’s been a lack of effort to bring missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two spirit people home.

‘Living this tragedy every day’

He said it’s important to remember that there are potentially 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 said they believed Nepinak’s body was dumped in a garbage bin and brought to Brady Road landfill. They spent six days searching for the 31-year-old at the landfill in 2012.

Barsy says timely, fulsome 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 people need to keep pushing for all levels of government to implement the 231 calls to justice based on the 2019 report on the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

Two calls to justice have been implemented in Manitoba since 2019.

People gathered in a park sitting on lawn chairs and talking near a red and orange gradient monument. — Community members sang traditional songs, smudged, placed tobacco ties and cloth into the sacred fire and shared stories about Rebecca Contois at the vigil. (Tessa Adamski/CBC)

Barsy said the family continues to experience a lot of pain and grief, and there’s lots of healing that needs to happen.

The family hopes they will get justice on July 11, when Court of King’s Bench Chief Justice Glenn Joyal reserved his decision in Skibicki’s judge-alone trial.

“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,” he said.

“They are going to have to continue living this tragedy every day.”

WATCH | Vigil honours Rebecca Contois’s memory:

‘They are not forgotten’: Winnipeg vigil honours memory of Rebecca Contois

12 hours ago

Duration 1:09

Family and supporters came together in Kildonan Park Friday night for a memorial gathering in honour of Rebecca Contois, whose life was cut short in 2022 at the hands of an admitted serial killer. CBC spoke with family friendTravis Barsy and heard how the event was a solemn reminder of the ongoing crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.

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.