Brody Langager
Saskatoon StarPhoenix
An idea stemming from Saskatoon Tribal Council’s Sawēyihtotān program could see a similar Indigenous peacekeeper program piloted in the city’s downtown core, offering supports to the city’s most vulnerable.
A report to Tuesday’s transportation committee is recommending that the city work with an Indigenous group to start a pilot project that would offer mental health and addictions supports through a culturally-responsive lens.
In September, Mayor Cynthia Block made a motion to explore what a possible Indigenous peacekeepers program would look like downtown.
She wondered if there were other options to compliment the Fire Community Support work, referring to the peacekeepers working at Central Urban Métis Federation Incorporated (CUMFI) who connect people to mental health, addictions and housing support.
Those peacekeepers were part of Saskatoon Tribal Council’s (STC) Sawēyihtotān program, which monitors CUMFI’s washroom and shower trailers. Block said their work has been “very impressive.”
Shirley Isbister, CUMFI’s president, highlighted how a Sawēyihtotān program worker took a compassionate approach with someone who was creating a disturbance during a previous event, taking that person by the hand and walking them away from the crowd to help calm them down.
The city’s plan
The report offers several options for committee, but recommends that a one-year pilot be created in partnership with a Indigenous rights holder or organization to offer peacekeeping services in one business improvement district area.
The plan would require $300,000 for staffing, resourcing and administration costs, and would allow four peacekeepers to be hired 12 hours a day.
Other options in the report included creating a contract with an Indigenous organization that offers peacekeeping services, partnering with a social enterprise to offer peacekeeping services, creating a city-owned program, or not going forward with the idea at all.
Saskatoon has a tiered response to security when it comes to Saskatoon Transit and the business improvement districts. This response includes the Saskatoon Fire Department, Saskatoon Police Service, private security companies and Saskatoon Transit supervisors.
These organizations were consulted about the idea of Indigenous peacekeepers, saying a program could increase the likelihood of people accepting and accessing homelessness and addictions services.
The report said these Indigenous peacekeepers wouldn’t wear uniforms, but they’d be easily identifiable and culturally responsive.
While general security is granted authority through laws, the report said Indigenous-led peacekeepers have authority through local leadership, cultural connections and community relationships.
The report states there are very few programs like this in other Canadian cities, but pointed to programs in Edmonton, Winnipeg and Squamish Nation, north of Vancouver.
In Edmonton, a security company owned by the Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation works with a peer support worker from Hiregood, a social enterprise organization, to operate two night patrol vehicles in the city’s downtown.
Winnipeg has an Indigenous women’s support team that works in the city’s downtown and is funded by the provincial government. The team offers social and health services to Indigenous women and girls.
The community safety team in Squamish Nation works with police, supports events, helps with traffic control, and works as a point-of-contact for community safety concerns. The team also helps in weather emergencies and evacuations.
The StarPhoenix reached out to STC for comment, but did not receive a response by deadline.
