FSIN outraged by gov’t, police handling of protest camp outside legislature

REGINA The Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations says it is outraged by how the Saskatchewan government and police handled protests outside the provincial legislature.

Six people from the Justice for our Stolen Children camp were arrested on Monday as a teepee was removed from the site.

The camp was set up at the end of February shortly after the acquittals of Gerald Stanley in the fatal shooting of Colten Boushie and Raymond Cormier in the death of Manitoba teen Tina Fontaine. Both victims were Indigenous.

It protested racial injustice and the disproportionate number of Indigenous children in government care.

“The current child-welfare system is failing and contributing to many of the social problems our children are forced to endure,” federation Chief Bobby Cameron said in a statement Tuesday.

“We call for respect and peace to rectify the provincial child-welfare system that is failing.”

Cameron said Indigenous communities know what’s best for their children and how to help them succeed in life.

The province had served notice that the camp would be shut down. Authorities evicted most people on Friday and those remaining were supposed to leave the site by noon Sunday.

Justice Minister Don Morgan said he didn’t want the removal of the camp to be a setback in the government’s relationship with First Nations.

Boushie’s mother, Debbie Baptiste, said the fight continues.

“We’re going to keep setting up our camps. We’re going to keep lighting our fires. We will not stop,” Baptiste said Monday.

“I’m not going to stop until change is made in the courtrooms, in the government.”