Inquest examining stabbing massacre on James Smith Cree Nation enters 2nd day
WARNING: This story con‐ tains distressing details.
The public inquest into the stabbing massacre at James Smith Cree Nation continues on Tuesday after picking its jurors and beginning to hear from one witness on its opening proceedings the day before.
The inquest — the longest and largest ever planned in
Saskatchewan — will examine the events on Sept. 4, 2022, when Myles Sanderson, a James Smith community member, killed 11 people and attempted to kill 17 others. All of the victims were attacked on James Smith Cree Nation, except one elderly man who was killed at his home in the nearby village of Weldon.
It is meant to provide a public and factual account of what happened in the hours leading up to the violent at‐ tacks as well as the event it‐ self, according to Saskatchewan's chief coro‐ ner Clive Weighill.
When the inquest recon‐ venes on Tuesday, Staff Sgt. Robin Zentner, who works with the RCMP's major crimes unit, is expected to continue giving evidence.
On Monday, he took the jury back in time, describ‐ ing how Myles and Damien (Myles's brother and vic‐ tim) interacted with several people on James Smith Cree Nation in the days leading up to the massacre. Zentner shared text messages sent by Damien that Zent‐ ner said gave police insight in‐ to the escalating violence and chaos.
The three-week inquest, scheduled to end on Feb. 2, is also supposed to honour the victims of the attack and al‐ low the jurors a chance to provide recommendations to prevent similar tragedies from happening.
On Monday, the eight ju‐ rors were chosen — six who are tasked with making rec‐ ommendations and two alter‐ nates — some of whom are Indigenous.
WATCH | Why the James Smith Cree Nation mass stabbing inquest has a mix of Indigenous and non-In‐ digenous members:
About 30 witnesses are ex‐ pected to give statements and answer questions from the jurors and others who have "standing" at the in‐ quest, including James Smith Cree Nation, relatives of the deceased, the RCMP, the Cor‐ rectional Service of Canada, the Parole Board of Cana‐ da and the Saskatchewan Ministry of Corrections, Polic‐ ing and Public Safety.
Support is available for people affected by this tragedy. The Hope for Well‐ ness hotline offers immedi‐ ate help to Indigenous peo‐ ple across Canada. Mental health counselling and crisis support is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week at 1-855-242-3310 or by online chat at www.hopeforwell‐ ness.ca.
You can talk to a mental health professional via Well‐ ness Together Canada by calling 1-866-585-0445 or text WELLNESS to 686868 for youth or 741741 for adults. It is free and confidential.
Talking Stick is a Saskatchewan-based free anonymous chat platform that connects people seeking emotional support to a trained Indigenous peer ad‐ vocate 24/7.