Slaying victim’s family, chief issue plea for help on northern First Nation

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This article was published 27/02/2023 (978 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A remote northern Manitoba community where a 47-year-old woman was fatally assaulted last week is in crisis, according to its chief and the victim’s relatives, who issued a plea for help Monday.

The grieving sister of Noreen Tait said violence has escalated in O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation amid a lack of support services and programs in the community.

“Noreen had the right to safety and security within her community,” said Arla Tait, who was surrounded by family at a virtual news conference held in Thompson. “The homicide of a family member is very traumatic. There are so many mixed feelings — shock, anger, depression — creating deeply rooted emotional wounds for loved ones left behind.

“The senseless way her life was cruelly taken is difficult to comprehend and devastating to her family.”

Reading from a statement, she said Tait’s voice will not be silenced.

The family wants justice, said Chief Shirley Ducharme.

RCMP believe Tait was assaulted at a home on Wasagan Road in the community, which is also known as South Indian Lake.

She was surrounded by family when she died in a Winnipeg hospital Feb. 21, two days after she was airlifted from the community about 800 kilometres north of the capital.

Suspects have been identified, according to police, who hope to provide an update on the investigation this week.

“The suspects who were in the residence at the time of the assault are known to us and investigators are working to ensure the proper evidence is obtained before charges are laid,” spokesman Sgt. Paul Manaigre wrote in an email.

Tait is survived by two daughters and grandchildren.

She loved music and spending time with family and friends, according to her sister.

“She was kind to everyone she met and had an outgoing personality,” said Arla Tait.

Ducharme said three community members have been killed in the last two years.

“The severity of these assaults in our community is becoming very too common,” she said.

The community has a registered population of more than 1,700, according to the federal government.

Tait’s sister said there is a lack of in-community services for people experiencing issues with mental health, drug or alcohol use, homelessness and food insecurity.

The First Nation doesn’t have the adequate health care nor the critical resources needed to help protect Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people, she said.

Tait’s family called on all levels of government, including Indigenous leaders, to address the crisis by providing emergency resources and funding for programs that would be based on the First Nation and delivered through a cultural lens.

“We cannot allow this genocide to continue,” said Arla Tait.

Ducharme said residents are dealing with inter-generational trauma of residential schools and impacts of relocation due to the Churchill River Diversion project in the 1970s.

She said some residents turn to alcohol and/or drugs in a bid to relieve their pain, and the wait for treatment is too long.

“Our First Nation is in crisis,” she said.

Ducharme said its nursing station has two nurses who are “burned out,” and the facility is overwhelmed by medical evacuations and patients in mental health crises.

She said the community has four RCMP officers, with two rotating in at a time, and one First Nations safety officer and a second in training.

The news conference was organized by Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak, a political advocacy organization which represents 26 northern First Nations.

David Monias, MKO’s vice-chief and chief of Pimicikamak Cree Nation, said more services are needed to help people heal and prevent violence and other issues.

“Our people deserve better,” he said. “The government has to make the necessary changes that we require.”

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @chriskitching