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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Exile ain't what it used to be
You could call it tough love on the rez.
The most recent of a batch of murders on the Samson Cree Nation in Alberta sparked residents to find solutions to the violence, gang activity and crime in their community.
Their answer was to bring back a traditional way of life in a modern setting.
This week the 7,000 residents of Samson Cree Nation held a referendum and approved a new bylaw that would have gang members and troublemakers evicted from the rez.
The ballots were counted and 479 to 370 people supported the new eviction law.
Closer to home, Fisher River Cree Nation -- two hours north of Winnipeg -- created a similar bylaw eight years ago. Anyone caught dealing drugs gets kicked off the reserve. It seems to be working for them.
The traditional solution might work, but it's going to take a lot of hard work from the entire community. Times have changed. A couple hundred years ago you'd get exiled from your community when you did something really bad. From what I've read, if you committed a particularly heinous act, you'd get the boot forever.
In some tribes you might be killed.
With the harsh living conditions back then there was a good chance you'd die if you didn't have community support. If you were lucky enough to come across another community they usually wouldn't welcome you with open arms, either.
But these days if you get expelled from your community it isn't as rough. You'll survive, but life may not be as peachy without your home connections, family, and friends.
Samson Cree Nation is one of four First Nations surrounding the town of Hobbema and it's only an hour drive south of Edmonton. Many residents of nearby communities are worried that if people are driven from Samson they'll just move into their neighbourhood.
Enacting this new bylaw to kick out what are reportedly 30 or so young people is just the start.
If Samson's new bylaw is going to work it has to help make affected families strong again. From what I've learned, this community already has given a lot of thought to this.
Family breakdown is one of the reasons kids got involved in gangs and crime in the first place, so the whole family needs to get it together.
The way it worked in the old days was every person in the community was like a huge family. They all had responsibilities to each other, no matter what age they were -- from infant to elder.
You had to be a strong unit to survive, so even teenagers did their fair share. But we lost our traditional families practices over generations of residential school and child and family services involvement.
Kids that don't have a healthy home and a sense of pride in their lives get lost in the wilds of today.
So for this bylaw to really work, nearby First Nations should take a look at getting similar bylaws passed as well, or at least a law that doesn't allow exiled persons to live in their community.
Samson Cree is making sure exiled people can return home if they clean up their act and become responsible people. This means getting their families healthy, and giving them opportunities to participate in their community -- like volunteering, after-school jobs, hobbies and sports.
This is difficult in any aboriginal community, but not impossible.
It sounds like the Samson Cree have a big challenge on their hands but are willing to put in the hard work to get things right. Now it's up to Indian Affairs to approve the new law.
Other communities dealing with similar issues should take note of Samson Cree as it progresses towards becoming a stronger community.
Colleen Simard is a Winnipeg writer.
colleen.simard@gmail.com
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition January 7, 2012 J6
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