The Aboriginal Newspaper of Saskatchewan
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Standing proud! Members of the Frog Lake Traditional Dance Troupe display their colors on the lawn of the new Lloydminster Friendship Centre.
Photo Credit: Pamela Green |
My column: Justice devalues Aboriginals by Kenneth Williams
Métis incumbent returned to office by Mervin Brass
Officers enhance Victim Services by Kenneth Williams
Favel cruises to second victory by Mervin Brass
Here is a full list of additional stories featured in the November, 1997 issue of Saskatchewan Sage. If you are not receiving your own copy of Saskatchewan Sage, then you have missed all this information.
Click here for Saskatchewan Sage subscription information.
Officers enhance Victim Services
Metis incumbent returned to office
Female candidate pushes boundaries
Favel cruises to second victory
Campaign announced to help prevent Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
Stewart makes no promises on RCAP report
Haven built for youth
New developments frozen
Crime victims get new resource officer
Justice devalues Aboriginals
Honor the veterans
Veterans' stories haunt reader
Jackson's Huron Carole tour continues to grow
Charge laid in House assault
Province anxious to curb child prostitution
Ex-prostitute sheds light on sex trade
AIDS messenger targets youth
Attitudes not changing on AIDS
Aboriginal employees sought
News In Brief
by Mervin Brass
Sage Staff
SASKATOON
Chief Blaine Favel's powerful political machine steamrolled over northern challenger Allan Adam, to give Favel a huge mandate.
The nearly 700 delegates who attended the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations assembly on Oct. 15 and 16 in Saskatoon overwhelmingly threw their support behind the 32-year-old incumbent, giving him a 92 per cent mandate.
Adam never seriously threatened Favel's leadership as the first ballot vote count favored Favel by a lopsided 632 to 47 victory.
"It's a humbling experience to get the confidence of your people," said the second-term FSIN chief.
Favel said the mandate is a clear indication the First Nation people in the province want him to continue working with the Canadian public.
"It's a strong mandate to take to the province," he said.
Meanwhile, Adam, from the Dene Nation, expected the campaign to be a steep uphill climb in his effort to unseat Favel.
Adam said he knew Favel would get that kind of support but questioned whether the grassroots people would be as supportive.
"Every First Nation member should have the right to vote," said the former FSIN vice-chief.
Many people accused Adam of trying to create disunity within the federation.
"I ran because I truly believe there is democracy in the organization," Adam said in his address on the first day of the assembly.
Chief Richard Poorman, of the Kawacatoose First Nation, nominated Favel and in his nomination speech praised the work of his candidate.
"He has opened many doors for us as Indian people," said Poorman. "He has brought the federation out of a deficit."
One of the measures Favel used to streamline the federation is to reduce the number of vice-chiefs from seven to four.
This created a wild scramble for the four vice-chief positions as incumbents fell like rocks in a rock slide.
Morley Watson, of the Ochapowace First Nation, defeated Eugene Arcand, the incumbent, for the second vice-chief's position. It was a close race that needed two ballots to determine the winner.
Watson said First Nation job creation will be high on his list of priorities, with an emphasis on business.
Meanwhile Terry Sanderson, of the James Smith Band, was acclaimed as the second vice-chief.
The only incumbent vice-chief to be re-elected was Lindsay Cyr, from the Pasqua First Nation, who managed to hold onto his the third vice-chief position after two ballots.
The most exciting race of the assembly, however, was for the fourth vice-chief's position which needed three ballots, and kept delegates active until late Thursday evening.
When all the votes were finally counted, it was former Prince Albert municipal councillor Lawrence Joseph who defeated Pat Dieter.
by Mervin Brass
Sage Staff
REGINA
This year's Regina civic election saw three Aboriginal candidates contesting council seats in wards six and seven.
Voters in Regina's ward seven gave the nod to Métis incumbent Ray Hamilton, who was elected with more than 1,300 votes.
Meanwhile, Reina Sinclair, the other Aboriginal candidate in ward seven, finished a distant third, losing by nearly 800 votes behind Hamilton.
Prior to his victory, Hamilton said it concerned him when Sinclair announced her candidacy for ward seven.
He thought the Aboriginal vote in the ward would be split, but he also considered it a good sign that more Aboriginal people were running in civic elections.
"Aboriginal people have always looked to the federal government for support," said Hamilton. "Now they are coming to the city and realizing how city issues affect them."
He added that Aboriginal people need to get into positions to create change.
The third Aboriginal candidate, Ivy Kennedy ran in ward six, which has the highest per capita Aboriginal population in Regina - the north central area.
But this did not help her when the final votes were counted. Incumbent Rob Deglau finished more than 600 votes ahead of Kennedy.
Some voters like Donna Pinay from the Peepeekisis First Nation, said Kennedy's past involvement with community organizations may have hurt her at election time. Pinay said Deglau had demonstrated his commitment to the community.
Overall the voter turnout throughout the city was at an all time low with only 25.7 per cent of all eligible voters casting ballots.
Neither Kennedy nor Sinclair were available for comment.
By Kenneth Williams
Sage Editor
I don't believe in capital punishment. If cold, calculated and premeditated killing is wrong, then it's still wrong when the state commits it.
But saying that, I don't believe in lenient sentences or early parole for murderers. Prison time should be for both rehabilitation and justice. Just because a convicted killer is not the "same person" who committed the crime or feels "incredible anguish" over the crime doesn't mean the doors should swing open and he should be released.
That is, however, if the killer is given any prison time at all. Sentences are determined by the severity of the crime that the person is convicted of. The Criminal Code of Canada states that there are three types of murder: first degree, second degree and manslaughter. First degree murder carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years before eligibility for parole, second degree has a minimum of 10 years before eligibility for parole, and manslaughter has no mandatory minimum sentence.
But a couple of recent sentences have me concerned. Both involve murders committed while another crime was in progress. In one case, two young white men picked up a prostitute, severely beat her, then left her to die in a ditch in the middle of winter. In the other case, a white man was beaten by two Aboriginal men who were stealing his truck, and then died of his injuries.
Who do you think got convicted of first degree murder and who got manslaughter?
To end your suspense, the Aboriginal men got convicted of first degree murder. The two white men received sentences of 10 years each, but will be eligible for parole after serving half of their time. The Aboriginal men will not be eligible for parole for 25 years.
Is the life of a white man worth more than that of an Aboriginal woman?
I don't need to answer that.
In the first case, much was made of the fact that Pamela George was a prostitute and that the two perpetrators were university students. In other words, the white males had a future, whereas Pamela did not. But what it means to me is that these white males obviously knew what they were doing was wrong.
There was also another similarity between these two cases: both had all-white juries.
There is a glaring discrepancy on how justice was meted out in these two cases. I am not advocating that the Aboriginal men convicted of murder should get reduced sentences, but that the white men should have been guilty of first degree murder.
To be fair, the Crown is appealing the manslaughter conviction. Maybe Pamela George's killers will receive sentences worthy of their crime.
Recognizing that there's a problem with the justice system is nothing new for Aboriginal people and we should not stoically accept that racism will always be a part of the system.
We as Aboriginal people have to take the initiative on this. We have to start being involved in the justice system by becoming police officers, lawyers, prison guards and court reporters.
Our lack of presence in the justice system will only ensure that these inequities will continue.
Ignorance that feeds incorrect but long-held attitudes about Aboriginal people is the main reason for those problems. Obviously, the people making decisions in the justice system value the life of a white man over that of an Aboriginal woman.
The only people who can properly educate others about Aboriginal people are Aboriginal people. We should enter these professions before waiting for programs to come along and encourage us to do so. I'm encouraging us to do so.
By Kenneth Williams
Sage Writer
REGINA
Nobody wants to be a victim of crime. It's probably because of this that many people are not prepared for what happens after the crime has been reported. Filing police reports, assessing the damage, dealing with physical injuries and psychological trauma, plus having to go to court can be an intimidating and overwhelming experience. A victim of crime can suddenly feel like a victim of the justice system.
Fortunately, for Saskatchewan residents, the province has had a program to help victims of crime work their way through the judicial process, as well as keep them aware of their rights and obligations. The Victim Services Program has been around since 1992 and is intended to help victims in the immediate aftermath of a crime and during their ongoing involvement in the criminal justice process. The program works very closely with the police to ensure that victims receive appropriate and timely assistance.
The program, however, didn't seem to be meeting the needs of Aboriginal victims of crime. To rectify this, John Nilson, the Saskatchewan minister of justice, announced the Aboriginal Resource Officer Program on Oct. 24.
"I think it would be safe to say that through the regular system, they noticed that there was a disproportionate amount of Aboriginal people being victimized and a disproportionate amount being served," said Shannon Baas, a communications consultant with Saskatchewan Justice. "The victims were not coming forward."
The Department of Justice consulted with various Aboriginal groups and individuals throughout the province to see why the Victim Services Program wasn't reaching Aboriginal victims.
The consultations "had identified that Aboriginal victims of crime were not getting the same services as other victims. There were barriers that they were not made aware of," said Winnie Malbeuf, a cultural relations officer with the Regina Police Service. "There was fear and apprehension . . . just walking into the police service to the front desk is very fearful. There were a lot of cases that just dealt with not reporting crimes."
Malbeuf was hired in 1994 to work in the three-year pilot project that would form the foundation of the Aboriginal Resource Officer Program.
The pilot project was "very successful and it was decided to continue it where they found there was high demand in the urban areas," said Baas.
The program would be focused on urban areas because there were already existing victim services' programs for reserves, which are covered by the federal government, continued Baas.
Malbeuf said that she was barely on the job as an Aboriginal resource officer when she was flooded by requests from Regina's Aboriginal community. She had a high profile in Regina's Aboriginal community because of previous job experience, and people were willing to trust her immediately. She was also able to use the program to overcome barriers that had existed between the police and the Aboriginal community.
"The Aboriginal community needed to know how the police work, and the police needed to know about the tradition and culture of the Aboriginal community," said Malbeuf.
In the pilot project, Malbeuf also saw her role as a type of outreach worker who would go into the Aboriginal community to inform Aboriginal people about victim services.
Her work wasn't confined to the city and she went out to the First Nations surrounding Regina to also let them know about her program.
Malbeuf also consulted with Elders, who, she said, were absolutely crucial to making the program effective.
The new program will see four Aboriginal resource officers working in Prince Albert, Yorkton, Regina and Saskatoon. There will be six officers in total, with Regina and Saskatoon each getting two, and Prince Albert and Yorkton getting one each.
As well as supplying regular victim program services, the resource officers will also be a liaison between the police and the Aboriginal community on victims' issues, provide prevention and early intervention services, and help to ensure that Aboriginal victims receive culturally sensitive information and support as they proceed through the criminal justice process.
Baas said that Aboriginal victims of crime can access services through the regular Victim Services Program and are not confined to seeking out the Aboriginal resource officer. She said that the resource officers are there to enhance and complement the Victim Services Program.
"If you're an Aboriginal person, and you've reported your crime to the police, there are the existing the Victim Services that are available to you," said Baas. The Aboriginal Resource Officer Program "complements the [Victim Services] program because Aboriginal people are more comfortable seeing another Aboriginal person - it enhances and strengthens the Victim Services for Aboriginal people."
The Department of Justice will provide $210,00 to fund the positions, while the police will cover all costs related to space, equipment, supplies, administrative support and supervision. The funding is drawn from the victims' fund, which gets its money from sur charges levied on provincial and federal fines.
According to the Department of Justice, the Aboriginal Resource Officer Program is the first of its kind in Canada.
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