Sisters in Spirit unite in Athabasca

About 50 people walked the streets of Athabasca Oct. 4 for the Sisters in Spirit vigil, an event to honour missing and murdered indigenous women in Canada.

For nine years, activists and families who have lost women have rallied around the national cause in Athabasca, and for the first time, they were joined by the local RCMP detachment.

“We believe in the cause, ” said Cpl. Steve Bereza with the Athabasca RCMP, adding that the police were asked to attend by organizers. “It's a concern to us, it's a concern to the community, and it's a concern to the aboriginal community, in regards to the missing females. Everybody knows it's a good cause. ”

To one walker, Berna Barore, it was especially meaningful that the police showed solidarity in the walk.

“Every year we had asked the police to come and walk with us in our Sisters in Spirit walk and they never, ever did, ” Barore said. “This is the first year they did and actually, I'm really, really happy about that. It shows that they are trying. Aboriginal and native people and the RCMP do not get along anywhere. ”

Barore's sister, Ruth Nora Cocks, was 51 when her body was found on the shores of the Athabasca River.

Barore reported Cocks missing on March 29, 2008. Cocks was last seen at the Grand Union Hotel on March 29.

Barore said she often “butted heads ” with the police, noting that she believed it started with an initial hesitation on behalf of the police to launch an investigation.

According to the Athabasca Advocate's archives, police conducted a ground search on March 29 with the RCMP Dog Service. On April 5, the dog service conducted a second ground search, joined by six teams from the Canadian Search Dog Association. The second search also came up empty.

Advocate archives say Cocks' body was found outside the search area, but Barore said the police walked right past the place where her sister's body was found a day later.