A spate of violence in a northern First Nation has led the community’s leadership to declare a state of emergency.
In a bid to address recent bloodshed, O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation is calling for more resources.
O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation Chief Shirley Ducharme and her council enacted a lockdown at 1 a.m. Saturday in the community near South Indian Lake, about 130 kilometres north of Thompson, following a night of alcohol-and-drug related violence.
FILE PHOTO
Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak Acting Grand Chief Angela Levasseur is supporting the declaration of a state of emergency in O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation, near South Indian Lake, because of several recent violent incidents.
The lockdown has since been lifted, but the state of emergency remains.
“There was multiple stabbings in the community that night, and also some serious aggravated assaults, so it was a combination of those incidences,” Ducharme said on Sunday. “And then, one individual was running around with a weapon, a knife, so that’s when we did a lockdown immediately… to get everyone off the road.”
Ducharme said RCMP have made two arrests connected to the apparently unrelated violent incidents, while the third individual, who was in the community with a knife, was talked down via de-escalation tactics.
There was one confirmed report of a stabbing, which occurred at about 1:10 a.m. Saturday, reported to the police detachment, Manitoba RCMP spokesman Sgt. Paul Manaigre said Sunday.
He said a 21-year-old man has been arrested and remanded into custody, while the 46-year-old man who was stabbed was evacuated to Thompson for medical care for his non-life-threatening injury.
Manaigre said another person reported having been possibly stabbed in the hand, but that individual was treated and released from the community’s nursing station.
Another person was arrested in relation to a domestic assault, said Manaigre.
“The detachment, along with the nursing station, had a very busy night with a lot of calls of a violent nature,” said Manaigre, but he added it was not out of the ordinary “in terms of policing.”
Ducharme estimated about half a dozen people were injured in incidents on Friday night and early Saturday.
A band council resolution will enforce a curfew between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. for those under 18 and from midnight to 6 a.m. for adults on a daily basis for the next few weeks.
Community checkstops are also being planned to search for drugs, alcohol and weapons while the curfew is in effect.
Ducharme said she and council met Saturday morning and spoke with RCMP, then lifted the lockdown and called for the state of emergency.
“We met with the nurse and the RCMP, and they had identified that especially on the weekend, when there’s money in town, that’s when they find they’re so overwhelmed and busy, all of these incidents happening,” Ducharme said.
She said when money comes into the community, some people in the community will get drugs or alcohol, resulting in violence.
The chief said in the long-term, her community needs a healing or treatment centre for people to seek help with addictions and mental health issues. Most people seeking addictions treatment go to Thompson or Nelson House, she said, with long wait times.
“We are trying to help our people with addictions… we want to heal our people, that’s our goal,” said Ducharme.
She said the First Nation is seeking extra security personnel to patrol in the community and help run checkstops. She and council have asked Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak about the possibility of sending further First Nation safety officers to the community from elsewhere.
The small RCMP detachment in the community only has a total of four officers, she said, with only two typically working on a single shift.
The community has a trailer with holding cells, but no guards. The nursing station has just two nurses, Ducharme said, adding the First Nation is looking to have paramedics come to the community to assist with medical needs.
“What usually happens is, when somebody’s arrested, Leaf Rapids (RCMP) will come and meet halfway with our RCMP and take them to their cells,” said Ducharme.
The chief and council are reaching out to the RCMP, Indigenous Services Canada and Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak, in part to seek access to crisis intervention teams and mental health supports, Ducharme said.
Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak Acting Grand Chief Angela Levasseur supported Ducharme’s declaration.
“Acts of violence as a result of the escalation of drugs and alcohol in our First Nations has been rampant in all northern First Nations,” said Levasseur in a statement on Saturday, adding the organization will collaborate with other levels of government on safety plans.
erik.pindrea@freepress.mb.ca
Erik Pindera
Reporter
Erik Pindera is a reporter for the Free Press, mostly focusing on crime and justice. The born-and-bred Winnipegger attended Red River College Polytechnic, wrote for the community newspaper in Kenora, Ont. and reported on television and radio in Winnipeg before joining the Free Press in 2020. Read more about Erik.
Every piece of reporting Erik produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.