SASKATOON – The FSIN says it hopes the end of the Sandersons stabbings manhunt will bring closure to the community, but it also says it will be watching for insensitive and racist reactions.
“This is not a time or a platform for the non-Indigenous community to make uncompassionate and culturally insensitive comments about this tragedy in any capacity. Hurtful and ignorant comments on any media is considered culturally insensitive and racist. Now is the time for our community as a whole to come together in support of the James Smith First Nation and the victim from Weldon. Together we need to support these families and these communities in their healing journeys,” said FSIN Chief Bobby Cameron in a media release.
FSIN says it will work closely with the RCMP to monitor inappropriate and culturally insensitive comments and will urge accountability for those that cause further damage to the already grieving.
Brothers Damien and Myles Sanderson, now both deceased, were the suspects in a rash of stabbings that left 10 other people dead and set off a province-wide manhunt that ended Wednesday with the arrest and so-far-unexplained death of Myles Sanderson.
His death had not yet been announced when Cameron stated, “Our many families and people whose lives have been altered forever because of this tragedy can now take comfort that Mr. Sanderson is no longer a risk to their safety. Our communities can now begin the lengthy process of healing through our culture, spirituality, and other denominations.”
