Wayway honours 1996 murder victim

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This article was published 30/10/2017 (2899 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WAYWAYSEECAPPO — Those who knew Amanda Jane Cook remember the 14-year-old girl from Waywayseecappo First Nation as a kind, loving and gentle person who didn’t worry about anything.

Her death may have been 21 years ago, but Amanda’s memory still resonates today with the family and the community at large.

Had it not been for her murder more than two decades ago, Amanda would have been 35 today.

But over the weekend, Amanda’s sister, Bernadette Sumner, chose to do what she could to honour Amanda and allow the family to heal.

Early Saturday evening, a memorial service was held for Amanda at her mother’s home in Waywayseecappo.

With a fire placed in the centre of the ceremony, immediate and extended family made up the bulk of those who attended the vigil, but two Winnipeg MLAs, and representatives from various missing and murdered indigenous women groups, also came to acknowledge Amanda’s life and offer prayers in her memory.

“I think 21 years is quite a long time for us to be remembering my sister without any kind of justice in what happened to her,” Sumner said.

Sumner said she hasn’t completely moved past her sister’s death. Her father, who died six years ago, passed away without knowing who was responsible for his daughter’s murder.

“I won’t move on fully and let go of the guilt, and the shame, and everything that comes with it, until someone is found for justice of my sister.”

Amanda went missing on July 13, 1996, after going to the Harvest Fair Festival in Rossburn with her father and brother.

Her body was found four days later in tall grass near the Rossburn fairgrounds. An autopsy determined Amanda was beaten to death.

Police arrested and later charged Clayton George Mentuck with second-degree murder in Amanda’s death.

Mentuck plead not guilty and was tried three times, but was ultimately acquitted in 2000. Amanda’s murder remains unsolved.

“It’s always difficult to do this work, whether we’re in a safe place and we’re doing it in ceremony,” Lisa Makwebak, who helped lead the various prayers at Amanda’s memorial, said.

Makwebak is originally from Waywayseecappo and the founder of the Women’s Memorial March of Manitoba.

She said she was grateful to be at the service to provide support and encouragement, adding the community has been hit badly with the deaths of indigenous people.

“And this family knows that all too well,” she said. “This family has been dealing with this for a long time.”

Amanda’s mother, Mary Cook, spoke briefly, encouraging everyone to love and respect one another and be humble.

“But we must live on. I must live on,” she told the crowd. “I even have to forgive the murderer who did this to my daughter.”

Mary, who is Catholic, holds onto faith in times like these. Sitting at her kitchen table, she said she prays for Amanda in the hopes of finding justice.

But at the same time, she wonders what went wrong. “Why can’t they find justice for us, for closure, for all my family?”

The ceremony ended with everyone releasing paper lanterns into the evening sky.

As the sun set and music played in the background, many held each other close and watched in silence as the lanterns drifted further away.

For Sumner, the lanterns served two purposes, both as a kind gesture for the family, but also as an act of healing for those who still hold anger and guilt in Amanda’s death.

“I don’t want her memory to go on like it didn’t matter,” she said. “My sister mattered.”

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