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Elder teaches important lessons to P.A. Police

Jun 16, 2017 | 8:00 AM

Policing a community as culturally diverse as Prince Albert carries significant challenges, but when the police in Prince Albert need help or advice they have a unique advantage – Julie Pitzel.

Pitzel, a life-long educator and Indigenous peoples’ advocate, has been the Prince Albert Police Service’s on-staff Elder since 2014. She helps the police understand First Nations traditions and protocols through training, advises Chief Troy Cooper on culturally-sensitive issues and events, attends meetings with victims of crime to ensure they are conducted respectfully and sometimes even acts as an interpreter when Cree, Dene or Michif translation is required.

No stranger to First Nations advocacy, Pitzel has spent her entire life fighting for the rights of Canada’s Indigenous peoples. Born in northern Saskatchewan and raised on a trap line, Pitzel said her grandfather told her to never forget where she came from, a lesson she took to heart. After earning her degree in education Pitzel spent years working with various boards and committees helping pass legislation on domestic violence and ensuring treaty rights for women. She once travelled to Rome along with other members of the Métis Nation to advocate for traditional land rights, and was granted an audience in the private chambers of Pope John Paul II.

“My belief is that everybody deserves to have a safe place to grow up,” she said, “and that every woman and child deserves to have a good place to live.”

Pitzel said she first entered the world of policing as Prince Albert’s first Aboriginal Resource Officer, a role she held for 11 years. After her retirement she transitioned quickly into her volunteer role as the department’s first-ever Elder. Now Pitzel’s role includes everything from formal training sessions with new officers to simply calling up Cooper to chat about a recent issue.

One thing that sets Cooper and the Prince Albert Police apart from other agencies is their willingness to listen, learn and improve, Pitzel said. While the relationship between police and Indigenous peoples is not perfect, she said it has improved in recent years largely due to the willingness of Prince Albert Police to grow culturally.

“You have to have willing people,” she said. “The Chief is willing to learn and participate.”

Pitzel said she and Cooper once attended a training session that included a quiz on Indigenous history, and Cooper aced the test while others clearly struggled.

“I was so proud of my Chief,” she said with a laugh.

For Cooper, employing an Elder is a crucial part of the police service’s ongoing work towards improving the historically-troubled relationship between police and Indigenous peoples.

“If you are policing an Indigenous community, you need to understand what that means. You need to understand the people that you’re policing so that you can represent them,” Cooper said. “Otherwise, you’re not part of that community.”

Cooper said he first met Pitzel years ago when he was a student in her conversational Cree class at SIAST (now Saskatchewan Polytechnic).  Pitzel has always been an invaluable teacher to him throughout his career, Cooper said, and to the police service as a whole.

“There’s always cultural information that Julie can provide,” Cooper said. “I’m not aware of another agency that has someone like her.”

 

Taylor.macpherson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @TMacPhersonNews