(Saskatoon) The chief of a Saskatchewan First Nation says he knows wounds will likely be reopened as his community prepares to relive the day a mass shooter went door to door stabbing people people.
“Our community is still grieving,” said Chief Wally Burns of the James Smith Cree Nation, located northeast of Saskatoon.
A coroner’s inquest is expected to begin Monday to find out what happened on September 4, 2022, when Myles Sanderson went on a stabbing rampage through the First Nation and neighboring village of Weldon.
He killed 11 people and injured 17 others.
Sanderson, 32, a First Nation member, died in custody days later.
The investigation carried out in Melfort, to the south of the First Nation, should make it possible to establish the events which led to the deaths, the people who lost their lives, as well as the date and place where each person was killed.
A second inquest into Sanderson’s death is planned for February. Public inquests are mandatory in Saskatchewan when a person dies while in police custody.
“This is going to reopen a lot of wounds, a lot of trauma,” Mr. Burns said.
The massacres and manhunt for Sanderson devastated this close-knit First Nation, located near the banks of the North Saskatchewan River. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) described how Sanderson stole vehicles, broke down doors and stabbed people during this chaotic and unpredictable attack.
The RCMP said that because Sanderson is dead, it will never be known exactly what happened and why.
Burns says the First Nation has relied on culture and traditions to try to find healing, but the void left by loved ones who were killed remains.
A coroner was in the community last week to prepare the victims’ families for the shocking details expected to be presented at the inquest, Burns said. The leader’s nephew and cousins were among those killed. He didn’t want to see the photos of their injuries, choosing instead to remember their spirit and their way of life.
The purpose of a coroner’s inquest is for a jury to determine the factual circumstances behind the deaths and to make recommendations that could help prevent similar cases in the future. The provincial and federal governments are not required to act on the recommendations.
An inquest is most often used when a person dies in custody, during arrest or incarceration.
“It’s a bit of an unusual case in this situation of a mass casualty event,” Keith Brown, the lawyer representing the First Nation in both investigations, said in a telephone interview from Vancouver.
The one-size-fits-all approach has limitations when applied to knife attacks, Brown said.
“The coroner’s inquest process was not designed in collaboration with the country,” he said.
“The James Smith First Nation did not and does not have any say in what the inquest process will look like, how it will take place, which jury members will be chosen or anything. ‘other of this kind. »
This leaves the community most affected by the violence with limited participation rights, Brown said. The First Nation is limited to interviewing witnesses and cannot suggest recommendations. The investigation also finds no responsibility or fault.
“It’s not designed to point fingers at anyone,” Brown said.
The lawyer and chief say a federal investigation would have been a better way to understand what led to the killings. They said the inquiry would be broader in scope, include more Indigenous perspectives and be better able to analyze the systemic issues that contributed to the attacks.
However, according to Mr. Brown and Mr. Burns, the upcoming investigation could be a first step.
“The nation hopes that the inquest will provide more information about the deaths, both to the families and the general public, so that they can understand how the tragedy occurred and perhaps, to that extent, provide a some level of closure or understanding,” Mr. Brown said.
Actions requested
What the community is looking for is action. The chief says members want self-administered policing to become an essential service to which the First Nation is entitled. They want corrections and parole reform to ensure people have meaningful programs and support after release.
They also want First Nations to be taken into account when decisions are made about whether or not to release community members. This includes notifying the First Nation of a release.
Mr Burns said he was not informed that Sanderson was out of prison before the stabbing.
Sanderson, who had a history of violent assaults, had been granted statutory release earlier that year but was unlawfully at large at the time of the killings.
The stabbing raised questions about why he was released and how he managed to stay free in the months before the attacks.
The joint investigation by the Parole Board and the Correctional Service of Canada into Sanderson’s release has not been made public.
“I’m really frustrated with our system because it doesn’t work. When it doesn’t work, it fails…and look what happens,” the chef argued.
It is too early to know the outcome of the investigation, according to Mr. Burns.
But, once again, the First Nation will rely on tradition and ceremony to support its members as they relive the terrible nightmare of carnage, he said.
“I was taught during a ceremony that we cannot leave anyone behind. »