New Indigenous council to tackle policing issues
Advisory group seeks to add members in effort to address systemic racism
A rebranded Indigenous committee to help wipe out systemic racism within the Edmonton city police force is seeking new faces.
The Nîsohkamâkewin Council, formerly the Indigenous Liaison Committee, is looking to add up to eight new members to shape recommendations to address inequities and barriers that Indigenous people face when it comes to policing.
The hope is to recruit Indigenous-identifying individuals who have a background in Indigenous culture, human rights and antiracism work. The 10 members of the previous committee will also remain.
Nîsohkamâkewin means “the act of helping” in Cree.
Council goals are to be implemented within the police service and include a number of recommendations from several national reports such as the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada and the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
City police Indigenous equity adviser Andrea Levey looks forward to developing these recommendations to address systemic racism.
“I'm really excited that we're getting this opportunity to do that and there's so much support internally for it,” she said.
“I'm really excited to work with the community and go step-bystep and make sure this is implemented properly.
“It's something totally new for a lot of policing agencies to do and I'm very excited to be involved with it.
“It's going to be a lot of work.” In September, police Chief Dale Mcfee, who is Métis, said he's committed to taking action to improve relations with the city's racialized communities and promised to hold extensive conversations with Black, Indigenous and other marginalized groups. He said he also wants to address calls for change in policing.
Levey said Mcfee is throwing his full support behind the new council as it tackles the incredibly difficult task of addressing racism.
“When you're looking at the different forms of racism, we have institutional, system, structural, individual and they all show themselves in various and different ways,” she said.
“I think this committee is very important in tackling the structural and institutional level of racism. We've really focused on changing the behaviour of individuals but I think it's time that we look at what our institutions and our collective systems are really saying about
racism and trying to address it from that approach.”
The emphasis for change follows protests against police violence and systemic racism around the globe, including in Edmonton. Levey said the Indigenous council will work with other committees such as the newly formed community safety and well-being task force to examine movements such as defunding the police.
“There's a lot of different moving parts and initiatives happening right now and I think the important part of how we can address movements like the defund movement is to look at how we can be accountable to the community and making sure we have those voices in that perspective,” she said.
Those wishing to volunteer for the council can email Levey at Nisohkamakewin@edmontonpolice.ca.
The deadline for applications is Jan. 31 and successful candidates will be decided by a panel by mid-february.
The first council meeting is anticipated to be held in March.