The family and friends of a woman who was found dead in her home on We’koqma’q First Nation are set to hold a vigil on Thursday to raise awareness of her death and the deaths of other missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls (MMIWG).
It has been one year since Cassidy Bernard was found dead in the tightknit Mi’kmaq community on Oct. 24, 2018. One year of waiting patiently for answers about the death of the 22-year-old mother of infant twins.
READ MORE: Suspicious death of Indigenous woman raised in Nova Scotia legislature
They’ll mark the anniversary by blocking traffic on the Trans Canada Highway, which runs alongside the Cape Breton community, for 4,365 seconds: one second for each of the estimated 4,000 MMIWG and 365 seconds for every day that the family has waited for answers.
RCMP have deemed Bernard’s death “suspicious” and say the investigation is very complex.
“Our investigators have been working very diligently. We have a great working relationship with the family and we are in very close and very regular contact with them,” said Cpl. Jennifer Clarke, a spokesperson for the Nova Scotia RCMP.
RCMP say they won’t provide more details but that their investigation is ongoing.
Bernard’s body was found by police in We’koqma’q First Nation on Oct. 24. Her twin girls, five-and-a-half months old, were found dehydrated in a crib next to their mother.
Less than a month later, hundreds of marchers blocked the Canso causeway connecting Cape Breton to mainland Nova Scotia to raise awareness about her death.
The We’koqma’q band council is offering a $100,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest and conviction.
Bernard’s death has drawn provincial attention, with her family addressing the Nova Scotia legislature and meeting with the premier earlier this year.
“Our lives are precious and our lives matter,” Annie Bernard-Daisley, one of Bernard’s cousins, said in April.
“For far too long, since colonization, our women have been hunted. When I say hunted, they have been murdered and gone missing without a trace.”
READ MORE: Death of 22-year-old woman on We’koqma’q First Nation not believed to be random
Thursday’s 72-minute-long vigil will allow emergency vehicles but will block other traffic.
The rally is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m., with attendees encouraged to wear regalia, red clothing or ‘Justice for Cassidy’ sweaters.
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