As Chief Wally Burns, of the James Smith Cree Nation in Saskatchewan, spoke at a news conference earlier this week about the mass stabbings that have devastated his community, he appealed to policymakers in Ottawa and Regina. “We’re asking to have our own racial policing,” he said. Public inquiries have made similar calls for the past 30 years. Indigenous communities, they said, should be served by police officers who are culturally sensitive and accountable to local leaders. Discussions about new policing models had been underway at James Smith and nearby reserves for several years before Sunday’s rampage. Now, with the small community still reeling from one of Canada’s deadliest mass killings, indigenous leaders in the province say federal and provincial officials must accelerate a move toward autonomous First Nations policing. The RCMP is currently the default police force on many reserves, including the James Smith Cree Nation, where nine victims were killed and nearly 20 others injured in Sunday’s knife attack. A tenth victim was a resident of the nearby village of Weldon. Suspects in Saskatchewan stabbing are dead. Here’s what we know so far about the attacks, the victims and the RCMP response The RCMP they have a single officer dedicated to First Nation policing, who works at an RCMP detachment 45 kilometers away in the village of Melfort, according to the village’s website. The force said it immediately deployed two officers from Melfort in reserve after receiving an emergency call about the attack. It took the couple about 40 minutes to reach James Smith. They found a dozen crime scenes once they got there, and the two suspects, brothers Miles and Damien Sanderson, were nowhere to be seen. Damien was later found dead at the reserve and Miles died after being arrested on Wednesday in what police described only as “medical distress”. Some Indigenous communities say moving away from the RCMP policing model has allowed them to respond more effectively to emergencies. Chief Paul Avanthay, of the File Hills First Nations Police Service, says his 20-year-old force is the only autonomous aboriginal police agency in Saskatchewan. He said the most critical difference between the RCMP and his team of more than 10 officers is that the latter work in the indigenous communities they come from. “We’re here, we’re in reserve,” he said. His officers have a proximity and consistency that can help them limit threats, he added, including the dangers of violent offenders returning to the reserve from prison. “That’s one of the biggest advantages,” he said. “We have people who know this person, who know their weaknesses and their habits.” Indigenous leaders in Saskatchewan say they’ve spent years preparing to talk to the federal and provincial governments – which usually shares the cost of RCMP officers stationed in First Nations – on a road map to creating a self-governing First Nation police force spanning several reserves. “We’re developing these models,” said vice-president Joseph Tsannie, of the Prince Albert Grand Council, an umbrella group of 12 reserves, including the James Smith Cree Nation. He said there will be no quick fixes. “It’s about building relationships, partnerships, building that capacity within the Indigenous community.” Noel Busse, a spokesman for Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Justice, said the province plans to take part in these conversations. “We are aware of the discussions surrounding a potential tribal police force and will discuss this request with our First Nations and federal partners.” he said. Andy Humbert, a spokesman for federal Public Safety Minister Marco Medicino, said his office was also aware of the discussions. He added that the Minister is preparing Parliament to upgrade the federal government’s role in policing First Nations by making it a matter of law rather than policy. “Minister Mendicino is committed to immediately introducing federal legislation that recognizes First Nations police services as an essential service,” Ms. Habert said. Such measures can lead to govt increasing their investment in First Nations policing. As Mr. Mendicino’s office considers strengthening First Nations-led police forces, he has received reports that the current RCMP-based model may be quickly crumbling. reserves. Records obtained by The Globe under freedom of information laws show the newly formed union for 20,000 rank-and-file Mounties wrote to the federal government last year to say police face many challenges in indigenous communities. “In our membership survey, 71 percent of respondents identified staffing shortages as the most common challenge,” National Police Federation President Brian Chauvet wrote in a five-page June 2021 letter to Mr. Medicino’s predecessor. Bill Blair. Mr. Sauvé warned the Minister about muddy orders for Mounties deployed to First Nations. He said confusion often surrounds the roles and responsibilities of reserve police officers, and pointed out that many First Nations do not have their own RCMP detachments. All of this, he said, can leave RCMP officers as the only emergency responders in many communities – a state of affairs that can cause endless turmoil as officers ask to be reassigned elsewhere. “Understaffing and under-resourcing by the federal government is happening on the backs of our members,” Mr. Sauvé wrote.
