Inquest called into the death of aboriginal artist Moses Beaver

An inquest will be held into the in-custody death of aboriginal artist Moses Beaver.

Beaver, 56, was pronounced dead at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre on Feb. 13 after being transferred from a jail in Thunder Bay, Ont.

Ontario’s regional supervising coroner for inquests, Dr. David Eden, says an inquest is mandatory under the Coroners Act due to the circumstances of Beaver’s death.

“The inquest will examine the events surrounding Mr. Beaver’s death,” Eden said Friday in a statement.

“The jury may make recommendations aimed at preventing similar deaths.”

Eden said where and when the inquest will be held have not been determined.

Ontario’s Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services said Thursday that a male inmate was found unresponsive in his cell at the Thunder Bay jail on Monday night and paramedics were called.

Aboriginal leaders called for an investigation on Thursday, saying Beaver has died under what they termed unexplained circumstances.

Nibinamik First Nation Chief Johnny Yellowhead said Thursday in a statement that Beaver, a renowned Woodlands artist, had struggled with mental health issues for many years.

“We do not understand why he was in custody or the circumstances that led to his death,” Yellowhead said. “It is clear that Moses needed professional help and a psychiatric assessment, and we demand to know why this didn’t happen.”

Nishnawbe Aski Nation Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler said the circumstances of the death were “troubling” and said he would “demand an investigation into the circumstances around his passing.”

Beaver’s sister, Mary Wabasse, died Wednesday in a collision in Thunder Bay as she was travelling to comfort family members and make funeral arrangements for her brother, Fiddler and Yellowhead added.

“Our community had barely begun to mourn his loss when the news came that his sister Mary was killed in an accident,” Yellowhead said.

The Lake Superior Art Gallery in Thunder Bay says on its website that Beaver was a self-taught artist who worked with acrylic on canvas, Indian Ink on paper and watercolour, and calls his use of colour “revealing.”

Beaver’s work “reflects the black lines of traditional Woodlands art, he embraces his own unique style of embedded images of spirits, human faces and animal forms, transcending physical boundaries to the outer dimensions of the spiritual realm,” it said.

The gallery also said he had worked with youth within the educational system and in community projects.