For me, reconciliation would mean action, not just words. Give us our children back. The land belongs to us. We can take care of ourselves if we are even given half a chance. Never forget, it was we who shared with you in the first place.
Gerald Stanley trial in the death of Colten Boushie
Sat, 2018-03-31 22:06
#452
Sat, 2018-03-31 23:13
#453
A show of good faith on Stanley's part would involve meeting with Boushie's family and/or the Red Pheasant Cree Nation and ask them what can happen for reconciliation. I'm not holding my breath for that to happen.Uh, wait, what?
He has to apologize to the Red Pheasant Cree Nation?
Really? Boushie's family might make some common sense, but he also needs to apologize to the Red Pheasant Cree Nation?
Stanley doesn't "need" to do anything. I was expressing my view that (even if you accept the riciculous claim that he merely acted based on reasonable fear on his farm) given how much further he has gone, including attempting to get a book published, his statement of condolence rings hollow to me. Actions speak much louder than words.
Sat, 2018-03-31 23:57
#454
Stanley doesn't "need" to do anything. I was expressing my view that (even if you accept the riciculous claim that he merely acted based on reasonable fear on his farm) given how much further he has gone, including attempting to get a book published, his statement of condolence rings hollow to me. Actions speak much louder than words.
Agreed. I'm sure he regrets it, but it seems more for his own sake not that of Colton and his family.
Wed, 2018-04-18 09:33
#455
Colten Boushie's family takes message to United Nations
Family and supporters of Colten Boushie have taken their message to the United Nations in New York City.
"I'm there to bring attention to injustice that's been happening throughout Canada," Boushie's uncle, Alvin Baptiste, said in an interview Monday during a break between sessions of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.
quote:
Delegates know Boushie's story
Delegates at the United Nations already know the Red Pheasant Cree Nation man's story, said North Battleford lawyer and Boushie family friend Eleanore Sunchild. Sunchild says delegates from around the world have followed the case closely.
"We don't have to explain about Colten because people already know. They seem to already know exactly who he is and what happened to him," Sunchild said.
Others attending include Boushie's mother, Debbie Baptiste, his cousin, Jade Tootoosis and Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations vice-chief David Pratt.
Wed, 2018-04-18 16:51
#456
Timebandit
A friend of mine - very talented Director of Photography - is working on an NFB film and is shooting the Boushie family's visit to the UN right now.
I don't know who is directing. I hope it's Doug Cuthand* or someone like that. Looking forward to hearing more about the production.
*Note that this is pure speculation on my part. Not many documentary directors left in Saskatchewan, and Doug would be one of the few FN directors in the country. But it could be someone in-house from NFB, too.
Thu, 2018-04-19 01:21
#457
This panel discussion held here in Saskatoon is well worth listening to, for anyone interested. It touches on the legacy of residential schools, but also concerns the outcome of the Stanley trial in the last section. It is in three parts of about 12 minutes.
http://www.cbc.ca/listen/shows/saskatoon-morning/episode/15538374
http://www.cbc.ca/listen/shows/saskatoon-morning/episode/15538458
http://www.cbc.ca/listen/shows/saskatoon-morning/episode/15538457
Thu, 2018-04-19 01:36
#458
A documentary is valuable in the present and historically but a movie would reach more people.
Thu, 2018-04-19 13:58
#459
Timebandit
A friend of mine - very talented Director of Photography - is working on an NFB film and is shooting the Boushie family's visit to the UN right now.
I don't know who is directing. I hope it's Doug Cuthand* or someone like that. Looking forward to hearing more about the production.
*Note that this is pure speculation on my part. Not many documentary directors left in Saskatchewan, and Doug would be one of the few FN directors in the country. But it could be someone in-house from NFB, too.
Actually, even better -- Tasha Hubbard, director of "Birth of a Family". It's about the 60's Scoop and a family of kids put into care who meet each other for the first time as adults. Powerful film. She's amazing. (And a lovely person, too.)
Sat, 2018-05-12 16:36
#460
'Do something': Liberals faced angry backlash over Colten Boushie case
Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould faced a flood of correspondence from Canadians imploring the Liberal government to act in the wake of a Saskatchewan farmer's acquittal in the shooting death of Colten Boushie.
Wilson-Raybould received hundreds of letters and emails after the Feb. 9, 2018 verdict finding farmer Gerald Stanley not guilty of second-degree murder. The overwhelming majority of correspondents called for an appeal, a public inquiry, reforms to the jury selection process or some form of remediation.
Many saw the verdict as a watershed moment and a test for the government on its commitment to reconciliation with Indigenous people.
"For a government that has made reconciliation a priority and a nation that is faced with a suicide crisis of young Indigenous people who fear their lives will not be valued, the acquittal of Stanley for killing Boushie sets a very dangerous precedent in this nation's efforts to reconcile with its dark past and ensure a better future for Indigenous peoples," warned one writer.
The letters and emails, which poured in from all parts of the country, were released under the Access to Information Act....
Sat, 2018-05-12 18:07
#461
The overwhelming majority of correspondents called for an appeal, a public inquiry, reforms to the jury selection process or some form of remediation.Many saw the verdict as a watershed moment and a test for the government on its commitment to reconciliation with Indigenous people.
Evidently, the government IS looking into reforming jury selection. But beyond that, what could anyone reasonably expect them to do, while still maintaining a separation between the legislative branch and the judicial branch?
If reconciliation is dependent on Trudeau "fixing this" then I guess it's not yet time for reconciliation. Trudeau cannot order the Crown to demand a do-over, nor can he tell a jury to come to a different verdict.
Sun, 2018-05-13 11:01
#462
But beyond that, what could anyone reasonably expect them to do, while still maintaining a separation between the legislative branch and the judicial branch?
..sadly the government can't bring colten boushie back to life. but it is within it's power to alter the circumstances that created the conditions for his death. condition that were lead by government actions in the past and today.
..the gov can acknowledge the destructive behaviour and racism demonstrated by past and current governments. it can cease the current path the fed gov in pursuing extinguishment. it can in good faith stop steam rolling indigenous folk via the tarsands and pipelines. it can implement undrip in the way it was meant to work when passed by the un. so it is almost limitless what the fed gov can do. but that will not happen, right magoo?
Tue, 2018-06-05 00:22
#463
https://ipolitics.ca/2018/06/04/tory-mps-slammed-for-high-fiving-after-v...
While the bill might be moving on from the vote, the Internet is not. The two Conservative MPs, Rosemarie Falk — whose riding encompasses the area where Indigenous youth Colten Boushie was shot and killed — and Dane Lloyd, have come under fire from both social media users and members of Parliament.
Sun, 2018-06-10 14:23
#464
..2 min video
Regina protest camp still fighting for justice in Colten Boushie death, despite eviction notice
It’s been five months since Gerald Stanley was acquitted in the death of Colten Boushie.
And a fight for change in the justice system continues in Saskatchewan.
A camp in Regina has received an eviction notice – but protesters say they’re not going anywhere until those changes are made.
Fri, 2018-08-10 16:57
#465
..includes video
Family of Colten Boushie files lawsuits against Gerald Stanley, RCMP
A lawyer representing the family of Colten Boushie says he hopes a lawsuit filed this week against the RCMP forces the organization “to look deep within itself” and examine the manner in which it interacts with Indigenous people.
In a statement issued Thursday, lawyer Chris Murphy further said “there can be no true reconciliation until the RCMP, itself, acknowledges that the callous manner” in which its members treated the Boushie family “was due — at least in part — to the fact that they were proud members of the Red Pheasant First Nation.”...
Wed, 2019-02-13 17:16
#466
swallow
How is it that the death of a young Cree man becomes recast as the story of a knight protecting his castle? What of the untold stories of those whose lives and homelands are continually subjugated in order for this imagery of "the castle" to be sustained? Castles evoke mental portraits of fortresses besieged, of hordes of enemies attempting to crash the gates of the wealthy, aristocratic and armed gentry defending themselves against the blood-thirsty intruders outside their walls and beyond their moats. These, no doubt, are the images and representations that the castle narrative intends to cultivate in the minds of those sympathetic to or willing to entertain the idea that the use of deadly force is justified to defend colonial settlements.
But what if we invert the intruder narrative? What if we bear in mind that the continuity of settler presence on Indigenous lands is itself premised on intrusion, a constant structure of intrusion dependent upon Indigenous disappearance?
Vital context, a year later, from Gina Starblanket & Dallas Hunt. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/how-the-death-of-colten-boushie-...
Thu, 2019-02-14 09:21
#467
Considering the castle narrative is seen as a valid excuse for homicide even here, I am sadly not surprised at all.
As for changing the narrative, even to some sort of respect for Indigenous sovereignty, we are a long way from that if the Saskatchewan government's response is any indication. One would have thought posting no tresspass signs was a common sense measure, but evidently it didn't establish clearly enough who is boss here.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/trespassing-law-court-battle...
Thu, 2019-02-14 10:36
#468
I maintain the Boushie death left enough room for aquittal although I think improper storage of the firearm should have been treated more seriously and possibly should have led to manslaughter because if the gun did misfire then poor storage of the firearm and ammunition seems likely to have played a part. I was much more disturbed by this case.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/khill-not-guilty-shooting-styres...
The shooter in this case could easily have remained safely in his home. There was no reason for him to fear anything other than his vehicle being stolen.
Jon Styres had no weapon and he wasn't trying to invade the house. As I understand Canadian law you aren't allowed to shoot someone to prevent theft.
I don't understand why this case has received so little attention in relation to the Boushie case.
Fri, 2019-11-22 01:33
#469
Of course the new trespass laws were applied equitably and fairly for everybody:
The Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) says Esterhazy RCMP failed to respond to several complaints of a trespasser on Ochapowace First Nation land last week.
According to a press release issued by FSIN, a farmer who had been a tenant before being evicted was seen on reserve. The farmer had been evicted because he allegedly did not pay rent.
Ochapowace's lands manager and pasture manager were approaching the man to tell him they had seen him trespassing two other times before this instance when they saw a gun in the farmer's vehicle, the release said.
"As they approached the vehicle, they saw the gun and fled, concerned for their own safety," Ochapowace Chief Margaret Bear said in the release.
"They come on our land and take whatever they want, and the police won't do anything about it."
Bear said police did not attend the scene at all, despite the incident having been reported to the Esterhazy detachment "several times."
"We can't be simply ignored when we report a serious incident that happens on our lands," FSIN Vice Chief Heather Bear said in the release.
"This could have been another gun-related tragedy in Saskatchewan and our Nations are gravely concerned about land disputes with farmers carrying weapons."