The rough draft (you can pretend to be my editor if you'd like)

Const. Robin Cameron's life was as big as her funeral.

Hundreds of RCMP officers and police joined her family, friends, community members and Canadian dignitaries, all of whom gathered to celebrate a life well lived. So many people attended her funeral at Beardys and Okemasis First Nation that rows of vehicles were directed to park in a field next to the arena where the service was held.

Cameron was only 29 when she and her fellow officer Marc Bourdages were shot responding to a domestic dispute on July 7. Cameron passed away the evening of July 15 and Bourdages died early into July 16.

Throughout her funeral those who gave eulogies and those who paid tribute to her life mentioned how often she smiled and how proud she made them.

Her father worked as an RCMP and ever since she was a little girl, all she wanted was to follow in his footsteps protecting others. But it was no small feat for Cameron to achieve her dream of becoming an RCMP officer.

Being a woman and being aboriginal were two of the obstacles Cameron had to overcome to become an RCMP officer. Another difficulty she faced was not having graduated from high school.

But when Cameron, a single mother, gave birth to her daughter Shayne, 11 years ago, she wanted to make her baby proud of her.

She went back to school and got her diploma.

Then she went to university and applied to be an RCMP officer. When she was rejected, Cameron refused to give up.

The next time she applied she was accepted.

FSIN Grand Chief Alphonse Bird recalled her talking about being turned down and saying, "I was stubborn and nobody tells me no."

She had been serving with the RCMP for six years before the tragic shooting took place.
The eulogies made it clear that Shayne was very important to Cameron and Cameron to Shayne.

Cameron succeeded in making Shayne proud of her. In a letter Shayne wrote to her mother shortly after her death, Shayne called her the "bestest person in my life."

During the funeral, one of her aunts read the letter, trying to hold back tears. "I know I saved your life once, but I don't think I can do it again," Shayne wrote, aware that her mother transformed her life to be a good role model for her.

"I love you. You'll be with me wherever I go, whatever I do."

"I know you'll be there for me. You'll see me graduate and have my own kids. And my daughter will be named Robin to know that her grandma was a hero," Shayne wrote.

Cameron was a hero, and not only because she sacrificed her life in the line of duty. Those who spoke of her continually mentioned her commitment to her job and to keeping her community safe. She was also doing everything she could to help First Nations people and the RCMP understand and trust each other more.
Cameron wanted to help aboriginal people change their perspective of the law-enforcement officers and to bridge the gap between aboriginals and the RCMP.

Cameron's life made a difference and her gifts to society continue through her death.

Her funeral was filled with those in red coats and those with darker skin.

Her coffin was carried out to traditional tribal drumming and singing. The funeral procession was followed out with bagpipes - an RCMP tradition. Even in her death she was able to bring two cultures together and to teach each one more about the other.

Cameron was stationed out of the Spiritwood, SK detachment, but a month before she died she had applied for a transfer so she could work closer to her home, the Beardy's and Okanosis First Nations. In that transfer note, the assistant commissioner Darrell McFadyen said she wrote, "I love my job. I love the RCMP. I love putting on my uniform for every shift."

That love of her job, her daughter, her community and her life was evident through the ceremony and will continue on as her legacy.

Bourdages funeral took place on July 25 at the RCMP Training Academy in Regina. There will also be a memorial service for him in his hometown of Saint Eustache, Que.

Donations to the Cameron and Bourdages families can be made through the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce.