Mishkeegogamang woman’s death to be re-examined

Mishkeegogamang’s Gary Wassaykeesic is looking forward to an upcoming re-examination of his mother’s 1976 death by the regional supervising coroner.
“We’re going to have the coroner’s meeting at the end of the month, hopefully with the whole family present,” Wassaykeesic said.
Michael B. Wilson, regional supervising coroner for north region, has completed a preliminary look at the case and is looking to hold a re-examination of the case within the next couple of months.
“I certainly believe it merits a re-examination,” Wilson said. “It will be within the next couple of months that I intend to gather all the information that has been brought forward to date.”
Wilson said the coroner’s office wants to “get to the bottom of this” case.
“Sometimes there are advances in investigative techniques and understanding of manners of death,” Wilson said. “Obviously, we will look at all the details that we have in order to come to the correct answer.”
Wassaykeesic has been pushing for an investigation into his mother Sophie Wassaykeesic’s death in the Mishkeegogamang/Central Patricia area ever since the residential school settlement was announced in 2007.
Wassaykeesic said while his mother’s death was recorded as a death by suffocation, due to alcohol, he believes she was murdered.
He has talked to people who said they heard “a lot of banging” at the time she died.
Wassaykeesic said the Ontario Provincial Police have made significant progress in their investigation into his mother’s death.
“They said there are more people coming forward,” Wassaykeesic said. “More people are talking about it now, and there’s more people to interview.”
Wassaykeesic has always wanted to find out what happened to his mother since he found out about her death about six months after she died while he was in residential school.
He didn’t learn any of the details at the time; he was just told that his mother was dead.
Wassaykeesic said his brother Ernie has become more involved in the case since he began working on his own personal issues.
“He’s actually the one talking to the detective himself,” Wassaykeesic said. “Now he’s starting to get the information for himself.”
Wassaykeesic supports the Native Women’s Association of Canada’s call for a national inquiry on missing and murdered Aboriginal women and girls.
“A lot of cases are exactly like my mother’s,” Wassaykeesic said. “It’s like nobody talks about it; nobody wants to do anything about it because murder is the bottom line.”
He recently received a list of missing and murdered Aboriginal women and girls.
“You should see that list. There are cases on there that are not even being investigated.”
Wassaykeesic said there wasn’t anybody there for his mother when she died.
“So when they (police and coroners) make their decision, it will not just be the family they will be dealing with. It’s going to be the community and the public that they will have to answer to.”