Fourteen First Nations elders were honoured with ceremonial badges today for the work they do on an advisory board for the Saskatoon Police Service.
The Chief’s Advisory Committee has been advising the Saskatoon police chief on Aboriginal relations for over 20 years. Police Chief Clive Weighill said the advisory board has helped the police service immensely over the years.
“It has helped us out with different policy we have had, Metis and First Nations cultural issues. They have just been a really good advisory board for the police service,” said Chief Weighill. “Let me tell you they are pretty frank sometimes about the things that are happening in our city.”
Weighill says the ceremonial badges do not me that the elders support everything the police do, but it is a way to honour the good work the advisory board does for the Saskatoon police. The police chief also mentioned this is the first honourary badge given to a civilian group in the history of the Saskatoon Police Service.
Walter Linklater and his wife Maria have been serving on the committee since it was first developed. Walter says the advisory board was initially created to teach the police the traditional way of life for First Nations people.
“We encouraged them to get elders to come and to smudge and to pray with us, to take part in the ceremonies to better understand the power available for our people and all people.”
Walter says he has seen an improvement in the relationship between the police and First Nations in Saskatoon since the board was formed, but he says there is still a lot of work to do.