To the Expositor:
To the person that removed the crosses in M’Chigeeng:
I am the sister of the late Jason Maurice, and on Friday, May 13, I found out from my mother (who, I might add, was so distraught that she could barely talk to me on the phone) that on her passing by my brother’s memorial spot, along Highway 551, where the two crosses had been placed where he passed away, she saw they had been removed.
She did what I am sure anyone would do and called the police to make a vandalism report. She was then notified that there was nothing that the police could do, nothing, because the previous owner had passed away, and a new owner had taken over the property.
This person apparently had reasons for removing the crosses, but to us, Jason’s family, it was a memorial spot for us to remember him.
To top it off, there was no phone call to my mother to let her know that the crosses were going to be removed. Now I always thought that in the Aboriginal beliefs, the place where a young person passed (especially before their time) was always a sacred place. I know that there is not much I can do about this matter as it is this person’s property, but I think a big apology is in order for not only my mother, but for my brother’s entire family!
Try putting yourself in her shoes right now: you just took one place that my mother kept dear to her heart because it made her feel a little closer to her first-born child!
Sincerely,
Natasha Smith, Jason’s baby sister
Mindemoya
