REMEMBERING MARLENE BIRD
Victim of violence lauded as forgiving
Marlene Bird, who died in hospital in Prince Albert on Monday, will be remembered as “a symbol of resiliency,” forgiveness and dignity, say people who knew her.
Bird, 50, lost both her legs and much of her eyesight after she was viciously attacked and set on fire in a back alley in Prince Albert on June 1, 2014.
She entered hospital on Nov. 20, went into a coma on Wednesday and never regained consciousness after suffering heart, liver and kidney failure, her friend Linda Lavallee said.
The Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) said Bird, a member of Montreal Lake Cree Nation, died “surrounded by family” at Victoria Hospital.
Lavallee said Bird had forgiven Leslie Black, the man who attacked and sexually assaulted her. But she was upset over the 16-year prison term he received in September, and the stress of the case and its outcome affected her health.
Friends saw what was happening to her and convinced her to go to hospital.
“It was very hard on her, even though she forgave (Black),” said Lavallee, a resident of Chilliwack, B.C. “She thought the amount of time that guy was going to get was never enough for the amount of pain she went through.
“She was really hurt and couldn’t accept it.”
Lavallee said Bird, who was a residential school survivor, turned to alcohol to help her cope, but in the month before her death she and her partner, Linda’s brother Patrick Lavallee, resolved to stay sober.
Donna Brooks, CEO of the Prince Albert YMCA, said people from across Canada reacted to the attack with donations and cards of support for Bird, raising more than $20,000 that was used to retrofit a house in the hamlet of Timber Bay, about 90 minutes north of Prince Albert, and for rent at a care home while she waited for that home.
Brooks said she and others who had ideas for how to help Bird learned a lesson from her independent spirit.
“She taught us that we have to let her do what she needs to do . ... Everybody on this planet has their own dignity to choose,” she said.
Montreal Lake Cree Nation Chief Frank Roberts, a friend of the family, described Bird as an inspiration.
“Despite the challenges that she had, she was still a happy person ... she still cared for people. She was a very kind and generous person,” Roberts said.
Bird’s two daughters, both in their 20s, are in Prince Albert. Lavallee said they could not be immediately contacted to let them know
If she can forgive someone like that, how hard is it for us to forgive other people? We should be able to make amends …
about their mother’s death.
Black pleaded guilty in April to attempted murder in the June 2014 beating, burning and sexual assault. Before he learned his fate, he made eye contact with Bird in the courtroom and said he was “truly sorry.”
Bird later said outside court that she thought she could forgive him.
“I’m doing my best, because my mom told me to forgive people that do wrong.”
Lavallee said she believes Bird’s legacy will be her ability to forgive.
“If she can forgive someone like that, how hard is it for us to forgive other people? We should be able to make amends with family and friends and even strangers.”
A memorial service was planned for Monday evening in Prince Albert. Bird was to be buried next to her grandmother in the tiny northern Saskatchewan community of Molanosa.
With files from Betty Ann Adam, Canadian Press and the Prince Albert Daily Herald