Aboriginal Youth get a taste of how police work

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More than two dozen young Aboriginal men and women have completed the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Aboriginal Youth Training Program (AYTP) this year, and are now posted throughout Canada as temporary members of Canada's national police force.

Initiated in 1993 by the RCMP and the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations (FSIN), the program was modeled on the Bold Eagle program run jointly by the Canadian Armed Forces and the FSIN.

The AYTP program is intended to provide the youth with mental and physical preparation to complete an introduction to basic cadet training and familiarize them with their detachment; to build and enhance self-esteem by integrating Aboriginal culture into the course training; encourage Aboriginal youth to pursue post-secondary education geared towards policing, justice services or the general work force; enhance and encourage Aboriginal student participation in the continuing education process and provide positive role models for the communities.

For the young Aboriginal men and women from Aboriginal communities across Canada, qualifying for the project was the easiest step in the 17-week program that runs from May through August.

Three weeks of introductory cadet training at the Regina Depot offers a compressed and intense baptism into the world of police work. covering everything from basic drill, deportment and physical training to law, handling prisoners and actual scenario enactment.

"It was really comprehensive and intense. They packed a lot into those three weeks," said Phillip Plessis, a twenty-something Cree who hails from Attiwapiskat First Nation in Ontario.

Plessis, a third-year University of Manitoba student, is now designated a special constable with the RCMP and is currently posted at Winnipeg's D-Division of the RCMP, working in the Aboriginal Policing Branch

In the four years that the AYTP has been in existence over 200 Aboriginal youth have gone through the program with a number continuing on with the RCMP to become full members of the force after completing the regular five-month training program.

The AYTP provides an excellent opportunity for the youth to experience the challenges of a policing career while building leadership, problem solving and other skills.

The youth received instruction in applied police sciences, which included the criminal justice system, powers of arrest, survival, forensic identification and an introduction to community justice forums. Firearms instruction, and police defense tactics are also an integral part of the program's three-week training component.

Particular attention is given to providing the youth with access to Aboriginal Elders for spiritual needs during the candidates' training and a special cultural weekend was completed on the nearby Piapot First Nation.

Now that Plessis is part of the program he says his future career options are even more diverse.

"No matter what I end up doing (he's presently leaning towards pursuing a law degree or journalism, which he was practicing prior to his participation in the AYTP) this experience will be invaluable."

Graduates of the program are: Adrian Lee, Dustin Ward, Benjamin Hill, Mark Richot, Dwayne Fleury, Dale Myers, Michelle Desjarlais, Joille Normandeau, Jennifer Barks, Davida Hobbis, Ryan Huggan, Dave Sembsmoen, Jimmy Robertson, Rudy Willier, Darcy Stevenson, Vicki Wallace, Maureen Greyeyes-Brant, Sandy Chocan, Bert Calvo, Lance Cazon, Phillip Plessis, Jason Macleod, Amanada Meawasige, Ranatiiostha Jim Swamp, Tracy Shannacappo, Kevin Mcleod, Cheyenne Francis, Angela Amaral and Carie McBain.