THUNDER BAY – Reggie Bushie had no other option besides Thunder Bay to receive his education.
The 15-year-old from Poplar Hill First Nation disappeared and was later found dead less than two months after starting to attend Dennis Franklin Cromarty High School in the fall of 2007.
The coroner’s inquest into the deaths of Bushie and six other students from remote communities attending school in Thunder Bay continued Tuesday with testimony from Bushie’s biological mother, Rhoda King, and his aunt, Mary Owen, who raised him.
Both witnesses required the assistance of an interpreter to testify, with King making the trip to testify in person at the Thunder Bay Courthouse.
While Bushie was raised by Owen, King said she was an involved member of his upbringing and helped make decisions about his future.
Bushie completed kindergarten through Grade 8 in Poplar Hill, but had to explore other options to go any further.
His two choices were Northern Nishnawbe Education Council administered Pelican Falls High School in Sioux Lookout or DFC. While Pelican Falls was the preferred option, primarily due to the closer location to Poplar Hill, there were no available spots.
He arrived in Thunder Bay in September 2007 to start the school year, where his brother Ricky Strang was also going to school.
Also testifying through a translator, Owen said Bushie was excited to come to Thunder Bay for school but she was worried. She last spoke to him the day before he went missing when he told her he was enjoying Thunder Bay and was playing on the school’s volleyball team.
Bushie was last seen on the night of Oct. 26, 2007. His friend, Tyler Wasaykeesic, on Tuesday afternoon testified he was hanging out with Bushie and his brother as well as others. They acquired liquor and started drinking along the river for an hour or two until they finished what they had because a fellow Poplar Hill student was going to be sent home the next day.
He said Strang seemed fine while Bushie was staggering when the group walked towards the mall to try to get more alcohol. Strang had to help support Bushie while he was walking.
Evidence heard on Monday detailed how a group of friends who were with Bushie and Strang left the two of them alone, believing Strang was going to contact the on-call NNEC staff to pick them up.
During the opening days of the inquest, it was revealed Strang woke up in the water of the river and Bushie was nowhere to be found. Strang is scheduled to testify later this week.
It wasn’t until Oct. 29 that King was notified Bushie was missing. She made arrangements to come to Thunder Bay and was told shortly after she arrived that Bushie’s body had been found.
Bushie’s body was retrieved from the McIntyre River on Nov. 1, 2007.
