Two women with a passion for the performing arts and the Aboriginal community were mourned Wednesday after a tragic car accident north of Regina Tuesday morning.
Forty-nine-year-old Michelle Sereda, a graduate of the Department of Fine Arts at the University of Regina, and 29-year-old Lacy Morin-Desjarlais, a performer and powwow dancer, were amongst the five people killed in a three-vehicle crash.
Tributes are pouring in for the women and the impact they made on the lives of many.
University of Regina Faculty of Fine Arts Dean Rae Staseson says both women were fantastic roles models for students and dedicated much of their time to working with First Nations communities.
First Nations University of Canada communications director Racelle Kooy says a number of students were touched by the work of the two women.
She says she was particularly close to Lacy Morin Desjarlais.
“She was a proud dancer and she also reached out in urban centres, like here in Regina, to teach the little ones to reconnect them to their culture,” she says. “They are just two immensely vibrant women who through their artistic abilities connected people,” she says.
Kooy says the mood on campus Wednesday was a somber one.
She says most people in the U of R community knew of the two women and their work and many took part in the workshops they offered.
Sereda and Morin-Desjarlais’ most recent collaboration was a production that took place at FNU called “Transactions.”
“It is a very powerful piece bringing together both the light and the darkness of the collective history of our Indigenous people but also the light and the celebration of the richness of the strength of who we are as Indigenous people.”
Michelle Sereda spent a lot of time working with Mispon, a non-profit arts organization dedicated to showcasing Indigenous film and developing workshops and training opportunities for Aboriginal youth around the province.
Festival director Trudy Stewart says she is still in shock that her friend is actually gone.
She says she will miss the many trips the pair made together to Cumberland House and the unique connection Sereda had to the Aboriginal community even though she comes from Ukrainian heritage.
The three-vehicle crash occurred on Highway 6 about 15 kilometres north of Regina, near Southey, on Tuesday morning.
Sereda was the driver and Morin-Desjarlais a passenger in a 2003 Subaru Outback that was involved in the accident.
A 60-year-old male from Cardston, Alberta and 50-year-old male from Calgary who were traveling in this vehicle were also killed.
The lone occupant of a 2005 Chevrolet Avalanche, a 59-year-old male from Cupar, Saskatchewan, also died in the accident.
The lone survivors of the crash, an adult female and male traveling in a 2014 Ford Focus, were taken to hospital with undetermined injuries.
The male has since been released.
Police closed the local stretch of highway for several hours Tuesday and continue to investigate the accident.