Cumberland House looks inward for community security

A second incident days later saw a 22-year-old Prince Albert man dead following a standoff between himself, four other men and RCMP in a home on the reserve that lasted for hours.

Shots were exchanged and the other four men surrendered. The deceased person has not yet been identified.

Chaboyer believes the incidents are connected and a result of gang activity spilling onto the reserve, which is 3.5 hours away from Prince Albert by road, a significant portion of it topped by pothole-filled gravel.

The community needs to do more to keep itself safe, he said, so they are acting and creating a security force of their own.

“People who will be of service to the community the eyes and ears, kind of assist to de-escalate situations or be on the scene when RCMP are needing assistance,” he said.

For instance, if there is an issue with a person who needs to speak Cree, the security member will be able to help with that.

They are looking for eight full-time and four part-time term positions to create the Swampy Cree Tribal Clan.

“We’re starting fresh and new with this group. They’ll have a lot of responsibility and will provide security 24/7,” Chaboyer said.

Other listed duties include protecting property and keeping people safe, de-escalating emergency situations when appropriate, monitoring high volume traffic in the community, deterring and detecting crime, maintaining good relations with residents and police, being confidential and maintaining a checkpoint.

He acknowledged there will be a lot of training needed but the band is looking for people with some history in providing security or even former law enforcement officers.

He has already received calls from former RCMP members and security officers interested in being part of the effort.

“We’ll get into a lot of training and how to avoid confrontations and try to bring a little law and order onto the reserve,” Chaboyer explained, adding he’s confident the group will be effective.

“It’s just to give everybody that sense that there’s an authority out there that’s looking for our best interests and the safety of the community,” Chaboyer said.

In some rare cases, other First Nations have created their own police or security forces such as Winnipeg, where the Bear Clan has been patrolling neighbourhoods with a high population of Indigenous people as a safety measure.

Chaboyer said he has had the group in mind for years but has now decided to move forward following the recent incidents.

Initially, they started by teaching the community about treaty-based law and educating security on what they can and cannot do.

“Trying to educate security in regards to what the role of security is, you can’t just go put your hands on someone and rough them up,” he said. “You need to know the laws.”

The Swampy Cree Tribal Clan will be paid positions, so Chaboyer is hoping previous efforts to have some outside funding are successful, but for now the band will be paying the expenses themselves.

He planned to have the group move up its start date with serious work starting after today, the day that Marisha, who was also known as Pritch, was laid to rest.

The shifts will be four people during the day, four on a night shift and a weekend shift as well.

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susan.mcneil@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @princealbertnow

by Susan McNeil

Cumberland House looks inward for community security

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