Justice system continues to fail Indigenous people
Prince Albert Grand Council is holding a national gathering in an effort to create community-led approaches for justice and policing and address the inequities faced by Indigenous people in the criminal justice system.
The first-ever National Symposium on First Nations Policing and Indigenous Justice, taking place in Saskatoon Nov. 5-7, will bring together Indigenous leaders, legal experts and researchers to look at how to better serve First Nations in northern Saskatchewan.
The symposium comes partially in response to the over-representation of Indigenous adults and youth in federal and provincial incarceration.
In 2016-17, 76 per cent of admissions to Saskatchewan jails and 92 per cent of male youths brought into custody were Indigenous, both the highest rates among the provinces. In that period, 85 per cent of female prisoners were Indigenous as well.
The event will look into addressing the complex underlying issues that contribute to those numbers, including youth disenfranchisement, intergenerational trauma and mental health issues.
The First Nations Policing Panel will discuss the creation of self-administered First Nations police forces. Saskatchewan currently has one: the File Hills First Nations Police Service, incorporated in 2002, serves the First Nations of Okanese, Peepeekisis, Carry the Kettle, Star Blanket and Little Black Bear.
In October, Muskoday First Nation and Whitecap Dakota First Nation signed an MOU with the province creating a joint task force to look into how First Nations laws can be enforced on reserve, including through the creation of an enforcement body. The task force looks to have a plan together by April 2020.
Cree lawyer Don Worme is a keynote speaker in the Indigenous Justice Panel, looking at developing frameworks for First Nations within the context of recommendations from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG).
Worme was a key figure for the TRC, fighting to have millions of documents released that supported the oral history of Residential School survivors.
Prince Albert Grand Council’s National Symposium on First Nations Policing and Indigenous Justice is in Saskatoon from November 5 – 7 at the Saskatoon Inn and Conference Centre.