Mediation circle sets conditions for resolution

WOMAN WAS ARRESTED FOR ANTI-INDIGENOUS COMMENTS, THREATS ON FACEBOOK

A Manitoba woman arrested over online comments that threatened violence against Indigenous people will serve 80 hours of community service on a First Nation as one of many conditions to resolve the case after participating in mediation circles.

The woman, who is nonIndigenous, was given seven conditions based on Cree laws, values and traditions that include writing an apology and an essay on Indigenous issues. She must also attend a cultural awareness camp on residential schools.

“She sees it as an opportunity that will educate her and make her a better person at the end of the day,” Opaskwayak Cree Nation Onekanew (Chief ) Christian Sinclair said Wednesday.

“One of the elders said ‘You are now part of our family because we are going to heal together now going forward.’”

Two women, who have not been identified by police or Manitoba Justice, were arrested on suspicion of uttering threats and public incitement of hatred after comments appeared on Facebook last summer.

In July, a Facebook account under the name Destine Spiller posted photos of a vandalized car in Flin Flon and proposed a “shoot a Indian day” in retaliation. One user suggested a “24-hour purge.”

“Let’s grab Budweiser and some shot guns,” another responded.

A hair salon in Flin Flon said one of the women who posted was no longer an employee after extensive condemnation of the comments online. The area’s school division also put out a statement saying the comments did not reflect its values, clarifying a woman who commented on the post hadn’t been an employee of the division for a long time.

The women were never formally charged.