Newspaper invades funeral

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Tsuu T'ina First Nation chief Roy Whitney is appalled by the conduct of a Calgary newspaper for sending a reporter and photographer to the funeral service of two Tsuu T'ina residents shot by an RCMP officer.

Whitney said all newspapers were contacted by fax and asked to stay away from the funeral services so the community could grieve.

However, at the service held on March 28 at the Tsuu T'ina First Nation, a Calgary Sun reporter and a Mount Royal College journalism student working his practicum for the newspaper were spotted at the service. They were approached by band members and fled, jumping a fence to make their way off the reserve.

"It is with great disappointment that we must bring to your attention a serious breach of professional conduct by one of your columnists," wrote Whitney in a letter to the publisher of the Calgary Sun.

Whitney said the Sun, and other media were issued requests to stay away from the service the day before the funeral. In the case of the Sun reporter, Whitney said he was told personally to respect the wishes of the family by Tsuu T'ina spokesperson Peter Manywounds.

According to Whitney, Manywounds spoke to the reporter twice on the day before the funeral and the reporter agreed to stay away, providing a press conference was held afterwards.

"A press conference was agreed to and the arrangements were made," said Whitney. "Notwithstanding these discussions and arrangements, [the reporter] entered Tsuu T'ina lands with a photographer."

Whitney said he is saddened by the actions of the newspaper.

"This blatant disregard for a grieving family's request and this Nation's private property rights, not to mention the dignity of every member of this Nation, is an appalling breach of moral ethics and professional conduct," he said.

The reporter or intern photographer could not be reached for comment.

Lester Pyette, the Sun's publisher, said he approved of his reporter's coverage of the funeral.

"Because [he] was at the funeral, where a thousand other people were, you people are making a big case out of it," Pyette said.

Furthermore, Pyette said he did not receive a fax from Tsuu T'ina nor did anyone make a request to him to have the Sun stay away from the funeral.

"There was no request made of the Sun nor me nor anyone else not to cover the funeral," he said.

Back at Tsuu T'ina, Manywounds said the Sun did receive a fax and that was why the reporter was phoning him.

"He said, 'We've got a job to do, what can you do about it. What can you give us,'" Manywounds said.

It was then that the post-funeral press conference was arranged.

Due to the actions of the Sun at the funeral, however, they were excluded from the press conference, which went ahead as scheduled.

"We went ahead with the press conference on Saturday afternoon, but we just excluded all the Sun personnel," said Manywounds.

The Tsuu T'ina administration has now black-listed the Calgary Sun from any events dealing with the reserve, including information on the Jacobs' shooting.

"We're still prepared to try and accommodate everybody, except the Sun," Manywounds said.