Six chiefs of the Wolastoqey Nation in New Brunswick are calling on the provincial and federal governments to provide more support for First Nations banishing individuals.
This comes after Sheri Sabattis died on Oromocto First Nation on April 27. The chiefs say the man charged with second-degree murder in relation to her death was banished from the community by the council and Chief Shelley Sabattis, who is Sheri Sabattis’s sister.
“We no longer need a Band-Aid. We need a solution, we need legislation, and we need a law. That’s what we need as Indigenous people,” said Allan Polchies Jr., chief of St. Mary’s First Nation and one of the six Wolastoqey chiefs, during a Red Dress Day march in Fredericton on May 5.
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Red Dress Day raises awareness of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people.
Sabattis’s nephew carried a poster-sized picture of her during the march.
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In a joint news release on May 3, the chiefs said requests for provincial and federal support to enforce laws passed by First Nations fell “on deaf ears, leaving us in a legal void.”
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In his speech, Polchies Jr. called the lack of support ‘”systemic racism.”
New Brunswick’s attorney general, Ted Flemming, did not respond to a request for an interview.
New Brunswick RCMP declined an interview, but in an emailed statement, a spokesperson said enforcement of band council bylaws is multifaceted.
“As police, we have to work within the parameters of all our legal authorities and obligations to ensure investigations are conducted justly and fairly,” Cpl. Hans Ouellette wrote in the statement.
