Safety officers on guard in Sioux Valley

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This article was published 28/12/2023 (660 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

SIOUX VALLEY DAKOTA NATION — First Nations safety officers in Sioux Valley Dakota Nation are focusing their time and effort on making the community a safer, better place for people to live.

In November, a mandate was signed between Sioux Valley Dakota Nation (SVDN), located 50 kilometres northwest of Brandon, and the Virden RCMP to increase the presence of First Nations safety officers on the reserve, adding to a core group of officers that have been assisting the RCMP for many years.

Duties of the First Nations safety officers include enforcing the Highway Traffic Act by giving out tickets to non-registered or non-licensed drivers and others who breach the Act; the Minors Intoxicating Substance Control Act; SVDN bylaws; the Off-Road Vehicles Act; the Liquor and Gaming Act; and the Child and Family Services Act.

As the Sun previously reported, the officers also now have some powers to act on public safety and crime prevention; victims and social services; arrests; search and seizures; and administrative tasks, such as note taking, report writing, interview basics and court preparation. They also handle warrant assists, radar speed and DUI issues.

Helena Maziwasicuna, a First Nations safety officer and SVDN’s justice co-ordinator, says she and her fellow officers play an integral role in the community. They organize and facilitate anti-bullying campaigns for youth and do other outreach work as well.

“We’re trying to do relationship building with the young ones, because we see the worst of the worst,” Maziwasicuna said. “We like to have that opportunity to show them who we are.”

Last year, the First Nations safety officers held a games night with the youth of the community. They’re looking forward to doing it again in the spring or summer, she added. They’re also going to put a suggestion box in Sioux Valley High School, located in Brandon, and offer ride-along programs for youth.

“Nothing crazy, but just for them to see a day in the life of what we do. We hope that they reach out. We would really like to do that,” Maziwasicuna said.

Maziwasicuna and her husband, who is also a First Nations safety officer, own horses, and are introducing equine therapy in the community, especially looking to work with young people, but eventually expanding it to even people outside of the community.

“We really would like to do that too, but I’m so focused on the kids right now. I don’t want them to feel like they can’t come to us. It’s not always the bad stuff,” she said.

Often, First Nations safety officers are the first on the scene of a crime, accident, or other incident in Sioux Valley, where they work to secure areas and de-escalate situations, Maziwasicuna said. All officers learn these and other skills through extensive training at Assiniboine Community College.

“There are two levels — there’s a level one officer and level two, and there’s always more training to go with it,” she said.

Another benefit to building strong connections to the youth in SVDN is that they might end up interested in a career as a First Nations safety officer, Maziwasicuna said. One of the officers is 20 years old, and eventually wants to become an RCMP officer.

“It’s the youth that we want,” Maziwasicuna said. “It’s a good stepping stone. There’s also some Manitoba First Nations police officers that started out as First Nation safety officers.”

In the line of duty, First Nations safety officers can experience things that are likely to be traumatizing, which is why Maziwasicuna encourages the officers to spend time with her horses, at SVDN’s bison compound, and out in nature.

“Sometimes we see a lot and go through a lot. Sometimes it weighs on us like anybody else, and our hearts break when someone else’s hearts break. We’re not robots, even though I think some people think we are,” she said.

Currently, the First Nations safety officer detachment in Sioux Valley is trying to secure training for thermal imaging tools so that eventually they can conduct search-and-rescue work.

While the RCMP are always called for issues of a criminal nature, First Nations safety officers are often able to de-escalate a situation before they arrive at the scene, said Chief Vincent Tacan, who was elected to lead the community on a platform of community safety, among other things, in October.

Eventually, Tacan would like to see all safety issues on the reserve handled solely through First Nations safety officers.

“The end goal, I think, is not to see the RCMP, is not to see the police, but for our guys to have locally the preference, and when the police come, that means it’s a serious criminal code matter,” he said.

To ensure that there are enough First Nations safety officers adding to Sioux Valley’s ranks, Tacan agrees with Maziwasicuna that recruitment efforts should be made within the community.

“For too long, we haven’t done a good job of promoting opportunities, of role modelling and showing kids what the possibilities are,” he said. “We need to show them a pathway, to let them know that there’s opportunities there to help them with their career.”

Making Sioux Valley safer and cutting down on its drug problem means addressing the harmful effects of colonialism — especially the effects of residential schools and the Sixties Scoop — and should include giving people the tools they need to stay sober and healthy and to heal, Tacan said.

“I think a lot of work needs to be done to repair the result of the cycles of drug abuse,” he said. “There’s also the employment — or lack of employment — cycles. The kids don’t see their parents working, they don’t see a work ethic, they don’t see a determination to get up in the morning.”

Tacan plans to focus on helping Sioux Valley take back jurisdiction in areas like child and family services, education, economic development, health care and more to break the harmful cycles caused by colonialism, he said.

“We have an opportunity to make our own rules — rules that are good for us. So, we’re just starting to figure that out. It’s going to be a challenge … so the more we work with our young people, we move forward.”

The future belongs to the youth of the community, and Tacan says that First Nations safety officers will continue to be a part of that.

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