'I called the police'

Maskwacis, Alberta, Canada - Nadalie Lightning stares out of her living room window praying to wake up from what she describes as a nightmare. In the early hours of August 30, her 15-year-old grandson Hoss Lightning Saddleback was shot and killed by Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officers after what the RCMP describe as a “confrontation” in the nearby city of Wetaskiwin.

Nadalie is devastated by the loss and struggling to understand how a call for help turned fatal. On the night of his death, Hoss had initially reached out to his grandmother in desperation.

"He was calling me that night. I missed 18 calls," Nadalie revealed, her voice breaking with emotion as the screen on her phone showed her grandson’s attempts to contact her. "He texted me right here at 1:01am, 'Can you come pick me up?' And then it's just, 'I called the police.'"

Nadalie didn’t see the messages and missed calls until she woke up the next morning. She frantically called Hoss all day, but received no response.

She had been the one who had always told her grandson to call the police if he was ever in trouble. According to an RCMP release, it was Hoss who had called them, believing people were following him and trying to kill him.

“I was phoning him all day. I kept phoning and thinking, ‘Well, he’s with his mom, so they’re OK. He’s gotta be OK. Then, I thought he just went over next door to my sisters.”

That afternoon members of the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) showed up at her doorstep asking Nadalie to identify her grandson, one of a string of Indigenous people to have died during interactions with police in Canada since late August.

Nadalie explained to Al Jazeera that her world has turned upside down since Hoss’s death, as she goes through bouts of grief and anger. The family said goodbye in a traditional wake and burial with a teepee set up in her yard in mid-September.

“I am still so broken,” said Nadalie. She spoke as she displayed pictures of her grandson throughout his short life, from baby photos to others taken not long before he was killed.

Hoss had been living with his mother when he was placed in the foster care system in November 2023, said Nadalie, due to struggles with suicidal thoughts. He was living in a group home in Edmonton, about an hour north of Maskwacis, far from his community and family support system. He had run away multiple times since being placed in care, added Nadalie, often seeking refuge with her on the reserve.

“He was in care and he ran,” Nadalie explained, adding she battled cancer over the past year and was unable to take Hoss in until she recovered. “Most of those times he ran away. I took care of him, that’s just what a kohkum (grandmother) does.”

Nadalie described Hoss as a gentle soul who was vulnerable and always saw the best in people. "He was so honest with me," she recalled. "I loved that about him."

The circumstances surrounding Hoss's death have not yet been revealed. Nadalie has heard rumours that he was shot multiple times.

Wetaskiwin RCMP say that Hoss had been found with several weapons, which the police officers confiscated, adding that a "confrontation" had led to two officers shooting Hoss.

ASIRT, the civilian oversight agency in Alberta responsible for probing incidents resulting in serious injury or death caused by municipal police officers and the RCMP is investigating Hoss’s death.

But Hoss is just one of at least nine Indigenous people to have died in police custody or during interactions with law enforcement across Canada since August 29, in a wave of violence that has led to calls for a national inquiry from one parliamentarian, NDP MP Blake Desjarlais.

The circumstances of the deaths have varied: two individuals died either in police custody or later in hospital, five were fatally shot, and two were struck and killed by police vehicles.

In one case, 42-year-old Jon Wells of the Blood Tribe died after an encounter with police in Calgary, Alberta on September 17. The Calgary Police Service initially reported that Wells, a champion steer wrestler and respected Blood Tribe community member, died following attempts to “de-escalate” a situation at a local hotel, where he was allegedly “acting erratically,” and being “uncooperative”.

However, ASIRT presented a markedly different account based on police body camera footage.

An ASIRT statement reveals that the police officers at no point attempted to identify Wells nor inform him that he was being detained or arrested during the encounter. Two officers deployed tasers, while a third was observed striking Wells in the head.

After being restrained face-down, Wells began bleeding from the mouth and vomiting. In addition to handcuffs, officers placed a restraining device called a spit mask over his head, as well as leg restraints. He was also administered a sedative.

Minutes later it was noticed that he was unresponsive, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

An investigation is under way, but Wells’s family have lost a man they described as “a loving father, son, grandson, brother, uncle, nephew and friend to many”.

They identified him as a well-known rodeo athlete who travelled across Canada and the United States for competitions and "a mentor and wrangler" with the Little Bear programme, an initiative that brought the Blood Tribe together with surrounding communities.

"His legacy as a mentor, friend and cowboy will forever be cherished by all who had the privilege of knowing him," a statement from the family read. "Jon will be dearly missed, but his spirit will live on in the hearts of those he touched.”

The string of deaths has ignited outrage among Indigenous communities and renewed calls for systemic change in policing practices.

Indigenous leaders are sounding the alarm on what they describe as a deadly pattern of neglect, discrimination, and excessive force in police interactions with their communities.

“As First Nations people, we're no stranger to what the RCMP means,” said Samson Cree Nation elected councillor Izaiah Swampy-Omeasoo, while visiting Nadalie at her home.

“We have to understand why the RCMP was created - they came in when Canada was being colonised,” said Swampy-Omeasoo. “They were established when treaties were being signed to keep the Indians on the reserve, to keep us in check. That's what the RCMP was created for. So when you can understand and acknowledge the inherent and fundamental values of why the RCMP was created, we understand why this happened.”

The relationship between Canadian law enforcement and Indigenous peoples has deep historical roots that continue to influence present-day interactions.

In 1873, the Dominion of Canada established the North-West Mounted Police (NWMP), an organisation that would play a pivotal role in the country's westward expansion. This expansion, while facilitating European settlement, had far-reaching consequences for the Indigenous populations who had long inhabited these lands.

As Canada grew, the NWMP evolved into what is now known as the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). Throughout this transition, the body remained instrumental in implementing government policies that significantly affected Indigenous communities.

One of the most consequential of these policies is the Indian Act, a comprehensive piece of legislation that governs numerous aspects of Indigenous life. The RCMP was tasked with enforcing this act, which remains in effect today, albeit with numerous amendments over the years.

A particularly controversial aspect of the RCMP's historical role was its involvement in the Indian residential school system. This system, operational from the 1880s to the late 1990s, involved the forcible removal of Indigenous children from their families. These children were placed in government-sponsored institutions with the stated goal of assimilation into Euro-Canadian culture.

The RCMP often assisted in this process, contributing to a legacy that has been widely criticised for its role in cultural genocide and the various forms of abuse that occurred within these institutions.

The effects of these historical policies and actions extend far beyond their immediate implementation. Many Indigenous communities continue to grapple with the effects of forced relocation, cultural suppression, and family separation.

Today, the relationship between law enforcement, the Canadian government, and Indigenous peoples remains complex. The historical context provided by the actions of the NWMP and early RCMP continues to shape continuing discussions about reconciliation, Indigenous rights, and the path forward for Canadian society as a whole.

And its within that historical context that deaths of Indigenous people at the hands of police is placed by many. The issue predates the most recent deaths; 16 percent of people killed in police-related deaths are Indigenous, according to data gathered on the decade leading up to 2022 by Tracking (In)justice, a joint project conducted by several Canadian university departments and nongovernmental organisations. That is despite Indigenous people only making up 5 percent of Canada’s population.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, the former National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations RoseAnne Archibald, expressed her frustration at what she emphasised was a longrunning issue.

"[The First Nations have] been sounding the alarm bell for a long time - for many, many years,” Archibald said. “This has happened time and time again. They’re just trying to kill us off, it’s maddening. Is that the first way they deal with us, is violence towards us?”

Archibald called for the implementation of recommendations from various inquiries and reports, including the 2015 Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the 2019 National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. She emphasised the need for First Nations policing to be recognised as an essential service and properly funded.

"Every single police force in Canada should be recruiting First Nations young people," Archibald stated. "On top of that, First Nations communities themselves need access to policing as an essential service."

Canada does have nearly 40 Indigenous police forces, the result of the country’s First Nations and Inuit police programme. These allow for self-administered police services in Indigenous communities, but those police forces have not been expanded for several years, despite hundreds of millions of dollars of funding.

In response to the recent deaths, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) issued a statement expressing condolences to those affected by the deaths.

"Independent investigative agencies are currently investigating the actions of our police officers,” said Robin Percival, Media Relations spokesperson for the RCMP. “These investigations are ongoing, which restricts the RCMP's ability to comment. We have a responsibility to ensure the fairness and transparency of these essential processes."

Representing the government’s position, Gabriel Brunet, press secretary for Minister of Public Safety Dominic LeBlanc, told Al Jazeera that “recent officer-involved fatal incidents in Indigenous communities have been incredibly difficult for community members, and most of all the loved ones of the deceased.”

“Our thoughts are with them,” Brunet added, before highlighting the government's investments since 2018 to strengthen the First Nations and Inuit Policing Program (FNIPP), aiming to increase access to dedicated, culturally responsive policing services in First Nations communities.

"We also remain committed to introducing legislation recognising First Nations police services as essential services,” Brunet said. “There is still a lot of work to be done, but we will get there through ongoing collaboration and frank, open dialogue."

Despite the government and police’s insistence that the deaths will be investigated properly, critics argue that the current system of police oversight is inadequate.

Shakir Rahim, lawyer and director of the Criminal Justice Program at the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, pointed out limitations in the complaint process against law enforcement officers.

"Even if a complaint is found to be well-founded, ultimately, it's still the RCMP's call about what happens in terms of discipline,” he said.

Rahim also highlighted the need for systemic investigations: "We see patterns with respect to people who might be in crisis or experiencing certain situations. And the current oversight body can't really conduct robust systemic investigations."

The recent deaths have reignited debates about racism in policing in Canada. Rahim noted, "The Supreme Court of Canada has recognised that policing itself contains discrimination and racism. This is a fact."

In the Canadian parliament, several MPs have also criticised the policing of Indigenous communities.

“After years of hearing about police reforms in the wake of Black Lives Matter, the government’s commitment to community policing in northern, rural and remote areas, and a commitment to pass a First Nations Policing Act, Indigenous Peoples are owned answers by this government as to why Indigenous people continue to be victims of violence carried out by the government,” NDP MP Lori Idlout said in a letter sent to House Speaker Greg Fergus.

She emphasised the need for parliament to prioritise this issue to prevent similar tragedies and to address the deteriorating relationship between Indigenous peoples and law enforcement.

Raquel Dancho, a Conservative MP from Winnipeg, has also spoken on the issue, criticising the Trudeau government's handling of First Nations policing. She pointed out that despite promises made to improve funding of First Nations police services, no concrete action has been taken.

Dancho highlighted the discrepancy between the former public safety minister's claim of "working around the clock" and the lack of progress, calling it a "failure to deliver on these promises".

The recent spate of deaths may spur the government and the police to act on those promises, but it's too late to bring back Hoss and the other Indigenous people who have died.

Their families still mourn their losses and demand answers, increasing the pressure on federal and provincial governments to address what many see as a crisis in policing and Indigenous relations.

"I know I need to speak up for him because nobody else will," Nadalie said, her determination cutting through her grief. "This isn't just for me; I want to help and support the other families, too. He was my baby."