AFN National Chief RoseAnne Archibald received a number of gifts during a stop at Muskoday First Nation, including this drum from Councillor Clayton Bear. (Nigel Maxwell/ paNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

Community safety

National Chief pays visit to Saskatchewan

Feb 1, 2023 | 2:41 PM

Assembly of First Nations National Chief RoseAnne Archibald will be making a number of stops across Saskatchewan this week and expects to hear a lot of concerns related to community safety.

Her first stop on Wednesday was at Muskoday First Nation, where like many other first nations communities across the province face struggles related to drugs, gangs, and people who return to the community despite being banned.

Acknowledging the issue is not a local one, Archibald told paNOW she strongly supports community-based policing and tribal policing.

“The RCMP, as an organization, has a very difficult history with First Nations. They were often the people who were taking out children away to those institutions of assimilation and genocide,” she said.

One of the National Chief’s stops on Wednesday was at Muskodayw she was introduced to Youth Chief Avery Smith. (Nigel Maxwell/ paNOW Staff)

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The federal government has committed to looking deeper into tribal policing, and Archibald acknowledged the advocate work being done by Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) Chief Bobby Cameron as well as Saskatoon Tribal Council Chief Mark Arcand.

“I support their efforts and I want to stand with them with everything they are trying to do for communities,” she said.

Other stops this week for Archibald include Star Blanket Cree Nation and Keeseekoose First Nation. Last month, leaderships at Starblanket Cree Nation announced that a fragment of a child’s jawbone was unearthed and ground-penetrating radar found 2,000 areas of interest.

In February of last year, ground-penetrating radar discovered 54 unmarked graves of children on the site of two residential schools at Keeseekoose First Nation.

Archibald explained it’s important for those communities to know they are supported by the National Chief.

“When I go there, I am paying respects to those little ones that didn’t make it and I’m also wanting to support the survivors who made it out of those institutions,” she said.

For the better part of an hour, Archibald met with Muskoday Council. (Nigel Maxwell/ paNOW Staff)

Muskoday Chief Ava Bear acknowledged it’s not every day the community gets to sit down with the National Chief, who she had initially invited to come in March for Women’s Day.

“She is the first female chief of the national organization, but more than that there are so many issues that are facing First Nations people at this time,” she said.

When asked for specifics, Bear said she was planning to ask the National Chief for an update on the tribal policing model, but also raise a concern related to homelessness.

“You know we have a high number of couch surfers in our community. I think something like 37 was the last I heard,” she said.

Archibald and Bear speak privately at the school. (Nigel Maxwell/ paNOW Staff)

Noting the community wellness centre in Saskatoon, Bear said her own community could benefit from something similar, as there is currently nothing in place for people who are homeless or in need of shelter.

Other issues on Bear’s mind Wednesday were the community’s housing shortage, overcrowded school, and food security.

“We have a beautiful greenhouse that we want to get established, it’s been a while coming but that’s a step towards food security and we want to talk about other ways,” Bear said.

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nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell