James Smith chief glad the inquest is nearly over

Chief Robert Head has been in and out of the inquest into the murders on the James Smith Cree Nation and in Weldon over the past couple of weeks, but he said Tuesday he was glad the evidence portion was finally done with.

“There was a lot of emotional times for the family members when they touched base with each and every one of their reports, and that was tough to see our membership hurting again,” said Head, chief of the Peter Chapman Band, which is part of the James Smith Cree Nation.

Since the stabbings, Head said the bands have tried to do what they can to support and help the families who were affected. That has included things like increases in security on reserve, programs and services for people to talk, and frequent cultural activities.

“I think it’ll never be enough,” he said. “When there’s a tragic loss in anyone’s life, it’s very easy to be unfulfilled. No matter what someone does or what someone says, you can’t comfort those people that are in that time of loss, so it’s understandable that the families are still feeling a lot of pain and sorrow.”

He said now that testimony in the inquest is over, he’s hoping there will be something positive to come out of it, through the recommendations the jury will provide. Those recommendations are to be delivered Wednesday afternoon.

The First Nation’s leadership has spoken before about wanting a change so that their communities will be notified when a potentially dangerous member is released from prison.

“Possibly changes in (the law) would help us to maintain that level of security for our membership,” said Head.

He also wants a more stable funding model to provide policing on reserve.

“We need to have First Nations policing recognized by Canada as an essential service so that we can provide these services all across the 600-plus First Nations of Canada so that all the members of our nations will be safe,” explained Head.

“That’s just a basic human right. It’s like water (or) air. Policing is a basic human right that we all enjoy in Canada, First Nations people should have that right too.”

It was the chief coroner’s choice to hold the inquest, so Head said the First Nation had to go through it and participate. There has been talk about the need for a national inquiry to expand the scope of such investigations but Head said the leadership is there to support the families.

“If the families want to push for a national inquiry, then the leadership will be behind them all the way.” said Head.