Hail to the new police chief

Page 4

It was an unprecedented sight in Saskatchewan history.

Bruce Parker, following the lead of a Star Blanket First Nation Elder, placed his left hand over his heart, raised his right hand, and spoke the magic words that made him the first police chief of a First Nations police service in the province.

For 82-year-old Charlie Bigknife, the ceremony Sept. 27 at the Peepeekisis school gymnasium, was the fulfillment of a lifetime dream.

He had just sworn in the first chief of police for the File Hills Police Service, which will be fully operational in three years.

"It's a very proud moment," said Bigknife, a former justice of the peace and a former member of an RCMP Aboriginal policing advisory group.

About 100 people from the File Hills Agency First Nations, along with RCMP, Saskatchewan Justice and Saskatchewan Police Commission officials attended the event at the school gymnasium.

"Even three years ago this seemed like an impossible dream," said Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations Interim Grand Chief Lawrence Joseph in a speech to the crowd. He and other First Nations leaders said the new police force marks a watershed in the history of Aboriginal self-determination.

"It is great to see First Nations' leadership are stepping forward to ensure safer communities," said File Hills Qu'Appelle Tribal Council president Ron Crowe.

"There have been many recent criticisms of First Nations endeavors, regarding their expense. If there is a cost factor, if the money that is currently used to put our people in jails and to keep people employed in such a system was instead re-invested into our own services, we would reap the benefits for years to come."

Parker is the first of what is expected to be a six-person police force which, by 2003, will be providing law enforcement services on the Star Blanket, Peepeekisis, Okanese, Little Black Bear and Carry the Kettle First Nations.

Saskatchewan's 73 First Nations and nine tribal councils will closely watch the new policing initiative, said Chief Joseph. If the new police force is a success, then other tribal councils could follow suit with their own police services, he added.

Police Chief Parker has seen first-hand the benefits of tribal council policing on First Nations. After spending 27 years with the Prince Albert city police, he became in December 1997 the deputy police chief of the Stl'atl'imx Tribal Police, which enforced the laws on 10 First Nations in south central and southwestern British Columbia.

The government of Saskatchewan is also happy with the new policing arrangement, Justice Minister Chris Axworthy told the audience.

"We are tremendously excited with the progress this agreement represents," Axworthy said.

The new police force will have the full authority to investigate and arrest, just like the RCMP and municipal police forces throughout the province, he added. It will also be subject to the rules and regulations of the Saskatchewan Police Commission and the provincial Police Act.

The only major difference is that the File Hills Police Service will report to a policing committee comprised of File Hills Agency members.

The new police force members could play a role in the First Nations community far larger than the roles of police officers in non-Aboriginal communities, said one of the guest speakers.

The function of the new police force could be similar to the "dog soldiers" as described by First Nations' Elders, said Noel Starblanket.

"They were the ones who protected the community in the days before contact with the white men," he said. "They were the ones who were delegated by the chiefs and Elders to protect the community and to keep order within the community. They were ones with special powers to allow them to do that job.

"What we're seeing here is the beginning of the return to that, to looking after, policing, and caring for our own people."