[news] Native Residential School Activist, Nora Bernard, Found Dead

[Mostly Water - "Canadian" and International alternative news feed]

CTV.ca News 

![][1]The woman behind the landmark lawsuit for residential school survivors died Thursday in what police are calling a "suspicious death." 

"Police were called to a home in Millbrook First Nation, near Truro, N.S., shortly before 3 a.m. and found the body of a 72-year-old woman. 

While police have not confirmed her identity, friends and family identified the woman as Nora Bernard. 

Bernard was the native activist who spearheaded the class action lawsuit against the federal government. 

The lawsuit sought compensation for loss of language and culture on behalf of nearly 80,000 residential school children who suffered physical and sexual abuse in residential schools from the 1870s to the 1970s. 

The successful suit could be more than $5 billion and is believed to be the largest class-action settlement in Canadian history. 

Police have not determined the cause of death but described the circumstances as "suspicious." They spent most of the day securing a warrant to search the house she was found in. 

On Thursday, Bernard's daughter, Leanna MacLeod, said the community had lost a "piece of our family puzzle." 

"My mother was a fighter -- for somebody to go up against the government and not to back down," MacLeod told CTV Atlantic on Thursday. 

"It wasn't to be disrespectful. It was to bring the truth about, and that's what she did. She accomplished something that a lot of people only wish they could." 

Halifax lawyer John McKiggan said Bernard was determined and single-handedly made the settlement happen. 

"Nora would not take no for an answer. And it was only after 12 years of fighting that Nora and the other survivors across Canada were finally proven right," McKiggan said. 

Forensic investigators were at the house most of the day and police dogs searched the surrounding area. 

Sgt. Randy MacKenzie said they were preparing to handle the case as a murder. 

"If the cause and manner of death is determined to be criminal, then certainly we will have to lead the investigation in that manner," said MacKenzie. 

With a report from CTV Atlantic's Dan MacIntosh" 

[CTV News][2]

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URL: http://mostlywater.org/native_residential_school_activist_nora_bernard_found_dead