After 197 days, final teepee dismantled at justice camp
It’s Wednesday afternoon, and the fire at the Justice for our Stolen Children camp has been fed its last wood.
Drum music breaks out. The drummer sings out a direction song as supporters gently remove the canvas shell.
Five protesters hold each other. Some shed tears.
The fire is very low now, just whiffs of smoke instead of the gracious whorls that once flowed up and out the top. The first pole comes down, ending 197 days of protest.
“It’s served its purpose here,” says the drummer.
As the last poles remain standing, Regina Police Service Chief Evan Bray comes by the camp — out of uniform. He hugs one of the camp’s founders, Richelle Dubois.
“We’ve been on this journey together,” he says. “We’re ending it peacefully.”
Dubois gives him a simple answer: “God bless you.”
THE FIRST DAYS
Dubois and Prescott Demas set up this camp, now known as Justice for Our Stolen Children, on Feb. 28. Demas started a fire as the protesters ignored PCC warnings that they were violating park bylaws and needed a permit.
The camp took shape days after not-guilty verdicts for men accused in the deaths of Indigenous youths Tina Fontaine and Colten Boushie, along with similar camps in Winnipeg and Calgary.
It initially attracted little attention from authorities, and some protesters were clear they had no plans to move.
“I intend on staying here. If they’re going to kick me out, they’re going to have to drag me out in handcuffs,” said Demas in May.
WHAT THEY WANTED
For the first months of the camp’s existence, the protesters sought a meeting with government ministers to discuss concerns about the disproportionate number of Indigenous children taken through the child welfare system, perceived inequalities in the justice system and what they saw as flawed investigations into the deaths of loved ones.
After a July 2 meeting with ministers Ken Cheveldayoff, Gord Wyant, Don Morgan, Paul Merriman and Warren Kaeding, the protesters narrowed their demands to a list of what they called “actionable items.”
They included calls to release detailed data on children in care and review all permanent and long-term wards of social services, as well as a moratorium on adoptions and planned expansions of
I intend on staying here. If they’re going to kick me out, they’re going to have to drag me out in handcuffs.
the foster-care system.
The protesters also asked the Ministry of Justice to pursue an inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous men and boys and review the Police Act and the Coroners Act for potential revisions.
They also called for a second meeting, which never occurred.
WHAT THEY LIVED THROUGH
The campers endured 133 millimetres of snow and rain, winter temperatures below -25 C and summer temperatures above 40 C.
The coldest day of their protest — March 30 — charted a low of -26.3 C. The warmest day, in August, saw temperatures reaching 41.3 C.
Robyn Pitawanakwat remembers one of those most frigid days. She thinks it was in March. It was when she had to stay up all night watching over the fire. She found a way to stay warm.
“I had a really dear friend with me that night — mostly just laughter and stories,” she said.
Protesters also had to deal with an unwelcome wake-up on June 15, when authorities arrived at about 5 a.m. to tear down the camp. Three days later, six of them were arrested as police assisted Provincial Capital Commission workers on site to remove the central teepee.
It went back up on June 21.
But few had anything but warm memories about their time there.
“I’ve heard people come and say thank you to the fire today,” said Shannon Corkery. WHAT’S AHEAD
Corkery, the partner of camp spokesman Prescott Demas, said she’s just going to take some time to recoup after more than six months of protest. Demas has been adamant that his personal journey continues.
Few of the protesters believe their campaign is over.
Pitawanakwat said their advocacy work will go on. She said they have already had success supporting parents and grandparents as they navigate the child welfare system. She spoke of a visit on Wednesday.
“What’s pretty beautiful is that today we got really positive news that she’s getting increased access and that she’s on a really positive path to potentially have her grandchildren in her home; that’s pretty amazing,” she said.
“So even though today is the day that the camp comes down, there’s all these good feeling floating around now, that remind us of why we are here.”