FSIN Questions Role of Province in Tamra Case

FSIN Questions Role of Province in Tamra Case

Thursday, August 05, 2004 at 13:29

 

 

FSIN vice chief Guy Lonechild dropped a bombshell yesterday regarding a missing 5-year-old Regina girl.

 

Lonechild says just weeks before her disappearance, Tamra Keepness and her 5 siblings were returned to her family by the province’s child and family services system.

 

The government can’t confirm that because of privacy legislation.

 

Lonechild notes the province recently trumpeted the progress it had made in this area since the Baby Andy case, but Lonechild says those words ring hollow in light of this new revelation.

 

FSIN chief Alphonse Bird echoes Lonechild’s remarks, saying matters of jurisdiction over First Nations kids should be handled by First Nations communities alone.

 

Bird says he wants to get to the bottom of Tamra’s disappearance, but right now he’s wondering if things might have been different if the government wasn’t in charge.

 

Bird adds this particular debate has been going on with the province for too long and he wants to see it addressed in the near future.

 

He says First Nations need the cooperation of the province in this area, to make sure no more kids go missing.

 

Tamra has been missing from her Regina home for one month now.