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This is the second part of our series on Uashat and Maliotenam, sister Innu communities near Sept-Îles where five people took their lives in the span of nine months last year. Despite great pain, residents invited three Montreal Gazette journalists last December. They wanted to share their struggles, but also the reasons they’re hopeful for the future. We continue this week with some of their stories.

BEYOND GRIEF: AN INNU COMMUNITY’S STORIES

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Part 1: The lonely place

Part 2: A history of violence

Part 3: A new path

This article contains material about suicide that may be disturbing to some readers.

UASHAT — On the morning of Nadeige Guanish’s funeral, Sylvie Jourdain waited outside the church in her pickup truck.

She couldn’t bring herself to walk inside and stand over the 18-year-old’s casket. Nadeige was just four years older than Jourdain’s daughter Shanet.

Many girls in the Innu territory say they looked up to Nadeige. She had piercing brown eyes and a warm smile. They say her face stood out in a crowd. She was generous, funny and resilient. And now she was gone.

When Shanet heard the news, she cried for three days.

By the time Nadeige’s funeral came around, Jourdain felt weak, sick even, but she made the effort for her daughter. It was important for Jourdain to let Shanet grieve.