"On December 16, 1993, about 30 Mushuau Innu entered the court
room in Davis Inlet. Katie Rich, Chief of the Innu community of
Davis Inlet, Labrador, passed a note to the judge, telling him he
was no longer welcome and was to leave Davis Inlet immediately."
This incident, first reported here in January 1994,
has been the beginning of a process of conflict and progress in
Davis Inlet. At that time, PBI was asked to provide a team of
observers and nonviolence trainers which visited in Jan 1994. We
returned in September, 1994 when the situation again appeared
headed for open confrontation. In April of this year, a third
team spent an extended period taking a look at the impact of the
justice system on the Innu (Project Bulletin, May & July 1995).
During a visit to Davis Inlet, they asked about the results, 17
months later, of the decision to force the judge's departure.
The court has now returned to Davis Inlet, including a new
policing agreement. In this article, we have excerpts of
interviews with Simeo Tshakapesh and Katie Rich from May 11,
1995, talking about this period. The team's overall report about
the impact of the justice system is available from the NAP office
(see the back of the Bulletin).
Interview with Simeo Tshakapesh, May 11, 1995
PBI: How was it since the RCMP [Royal Canadian Mounted Police]
left?
Simeo: Busy, we've been trying to restore our own laws.
PBI: What are your own laws?
Simeo: Looking after people the way they should be. For example
in an assault we deal with the offender, and they might get sent
to treatment. Sometimes they come back and don't re-offend. We
are involved in an ongoing process of healing rather than
punishment. If we do see a repeat of the offence, then the RCMP
is sometimes called in if the person is not willing to work on
their problems. I was surprised by one thing. Since the RCMP and
the courts were kicked out, there have been fewer suicide
attempts.
PBI: Why is that?
Simeo: I don't know. It has a lot to do with the justice system.
There are a lot of issues for suicidal people, young people who
have been abused, lots of dysfunctional families. These issues
hunt people down. Memories come up and people think of suicide. I
know because I grew up in the same environment. It is very
traumatic growing up in Davis. There was a lot of alcoholism in
the past, it's much better now. We have about 80% sobriety. But
four years ago it was 100% alcoholism. Gas sniffing was also
worse in the past, but going down at present. Few young people
drink.
PBI: Now that the RCMP are back, what will happen?
Simeo: The RCMP are more sensitive. The Tribal Police are working
with them. Policing will change once the agreement is in place.
Interview with Katie Rich, May 11, 1995
Katie: Before we did what we did on December 16th [1993], if we
had asked the judge to send someone to a treatment centre, he
wouldn't have taken our advice. They really needed a shake up.
All it took was kicking them out. I think we did what needed to
be done and I'm not ashamed. I think as long as Innu people have
a say in what goes on, they are more willing to accept the courts
and work to make the changes they would like to see happen.
PBI: So you think that throwing the judge out made them stop and
think about the way the courts were acting?
Katie: Yes. A few months later that same judge [Judge Hyslop]
accepted a request from Innu Nation to do a sentencing circle,
which was surprising. He would never have done that if he hadn't
stopped and thought about what had happened on December 16th. I
was sitting there for two or three days and saw him sentencing
people for six months, or three years for breaking and entering.
This happened in December and usually if the judge had a fifteen
minute break he would step outside and if he felt it would snow,
he would speed things up and convict and incarcerate people.
PBI: So he would rush through the cases?
Katie: Yes
PBI: Where did he stay when he was here?
Katie: He didn't stay. He would fly out to Hopedale and come back
the next morning.
PBI: That to me feels disrespectful of the community.
Katie: It is.
PBI: What you did in the court room was a piece of direct action.
Do you think you would have got the policing agreement if you
hadn't done it?
Katie: No. The year I first became chief, was the same year as
Simeon [Tshakapesh] and JB [John Tshakapesh] came out of the
Tribal Police Training Institute and we approached the government
for our Tribal Police to do a 6 week on the job training
programme, and they refused. They were going to charge them with
impersonating a police officer.
PBI: So you had been thinking about the police and the courts
before you kicked out the court. Was your action planned?
Katie: It was spontaneous. Even our date on the letter we
presented to the court was wrong, it was that spontaneous! The
government thinks that everything that happened was planned. We
as leaders come together and talk, and them suddenly there is the
idea.
PBI: So how was it in the community when the RCMP were kicked
out? Justine [Justine Noah, Tribal Police officer] said it was a
bit wild for a while, and people have said they were a bit
scared.
Katie: It was difficult at one point when we didn't see the RCMP,
but we tried to explain to the people that anyone could call the
RCMP at any time. I did in fact call them in, on New Year's Day I
think, and I felt that was a way to show the people that they
could call the RCMP at any time. But they had to ask the
permission of the community to come in. They couldn't just come
in at any time. By doing that I think I showed the people that
they could call and the RCMP could come as long as they were
invited. There were times when our tribal police couldn't handle
things and they called them, and that's the way it should be. If
our tribal police need support from the RCMP, they should be
able to call them.
PBI: What is the attitude of the community to the policing
accords, having had this period without the police or courts?
Katie: I think one thing that's happened is that it has made
people think about the court and how they want to deal with their
personal problems - for example with healing circles. If a person
commits a murder for example, we feel that it should go to court.
But minor things like breaking and entering, gas sniffing, sexual
assault, should be dealt with as Innu and we feel that that is
the only way of healing the community. We have seen strength
coming from the community, and we have to deal with issues
ourselves, like sexual abuse and the protests that we've been
doing in Voisey Bay.
If you had come 15 years ago, I would have said that Davis was
hopeless. You would have seen drunks everywhere, and children
neglected and dirty. Even the chief would have been drunk. The
more people stay sober, the more concerned they are about what's
going on. For example we wouldn't have cared about Voisey Bay. So
I see a lot of positive changes in the community. We are dealing
with big issues and have shown that we do have the strength to
stand up.