Fatal shooting case puts entire province on trial

This month we lost our cousin and the family gathered for the funeral. We came together and followed the traditional protocols that Cree have followed for generations.

The whole ceremony was geared to see her off on her journey to the next world. We would not name her directly. We used words like “our good friend” or “our dear cousin.” A feast was held and her spirit was freed to leave us and make the journey to be with those who had gone before.

Granting someone the ability to move on is paramount in our funeral practices and behaviour following a death. There is no overt outpouring of grief; people act with dignity and express their love for the deceased.

At the graveyard, once we have paid our respects and the grave is completed, we walk away and don’t look back. There is no word for goodbye in the Cree language or any other Indigenous language that I know of. We know we will meet again.

For an outsider our practices may appear odd or even uncaring, but they are our loving and respectful way of honouring the deceased.

The reason I raise this is that the trial for Gerald Stanley taking place this week in North Battleford, Sask. is very difficult for friends and the family of the victim, Colten Boushie. In addition to having to hear the details of his death and see the pictures entered as evidence, they relive his death and hear his name said aloud over and over again.

His spirit has not been able to rest in peace because of the media and legal circus that swarms around him.

I spoke briefly to his uncle Alvin Baptiste, who told me the case has been very difficult for his sister Debbie Baptiste, the mother of the deceased. “She has to leave when they show pictures or refer to him in the testimony,” he told me.

He also told me his mother refuses to attend and hear her grandson’s name over and over again and see pictures of his deceased body entered as evidence.

One of the witnesses, Eric Meechance, was asked to identify a rifle that was allegedly in their possession. He was shown a picture of the rifle beside the body of the deceased. He asked why they showed him that picture and he broke down. He had been shown a picture of his dead friend — a cultural taboo.

Another witness, Belinda Jackson, was asked to demonstrate how the man who shot the deceased held the gun. She refused, stating that she didn’t feel comfortable doing that. The reason was obvious to Cree people watching the trial. She would be mimicking the last moments of her friend’s death, and that was wrong.

The subplot to this tragic story is the rampant racism that is coming to the surface in social media. These anonymous trolls are fanning the flames and in the process Indigenous Peoples have been placed on trial.

On the other hand I have never been prouder of our people and the dignity shown at the courthouse and throughout the province.

Every day Alvin Baptiste has attended court carrying an eagle feather to show respect to the judge and the jury. He has also called for calm and thoughtful deliberations.

Jade Tootoosis, the deceased’s cousin, stated that the four young people weren’t on trial and it was a trial of Gerald Stanley. It was a powerful and defining moment.

Prior to the trial Stanley’s lawyer, Scott Spencer, stated the trial was not about racism. Then during the jury selection process he challenged every identifiable Indigenous person. The result is a jury for a racially charged case with no identifiable Indigenous People.

This case has polarized Saskatchewan society and the racial divide has been laid bare. This is a defining event for Saskatchewan because in addition to Gerald Stanley, the province is on trial.

Douglas Cuthand is an Indigeneous columnist for the Saskatoon StarPhoenix.