OrilliaMatters welcomes letters to the editor at [email protected]. Please include your daytime phone number and address (for verification of authorship, not publication). The following letter is in response to an article titled 'Concerns about speeding, drugs, encampments voiced at OPP forum,' published June 16.
‘You need to make better decisions with your life.’
Those words were spoken to me by an Orillia OPP detective at a time in my life when I needed a safe person to listen to what was happening to me. As a victim, I should have been treated with respect, understanding and patience. That didn’t come until I had reached out to the Rama Police Service for help because the OPP wasn’t helping at that time.
As a status member of The Chippewas of Rama First Nation, I have that right to involve the Rama Police Service. As well, the OPP is obligated to inform Rama if one of its band members has been victimized. This was not done at that time.
I also have access to the Rama Social Services department which includes a Victim Services worker that does a beautiful job helping victims of crime throughout the case proceedings. These services offered are so valuable.
In speaking with others in my travels, I became aware of just how many Indigenous people there are living here in Orillia and the many that are not from Rama but are more restricted with what resources are available for them. Rama does a great job when taking care of the safety of its members but funding will always be an issue so that hand cannot extend further at the moment.
I respect this and I do believe there are viable solutions to this, which is why I submitted a letter to the Orillia Police Services Board regarding the need and potential implementation of an Indigenous Liaison Team. I simply wish to share this with your readers as I noticed there wasn’t enough space to include this (or the other Indigenous policing issues mentioned) in the article about the priorities and concerns raised by members of the public at that open meeting.
I believe that implementing a team such as this would impact the lives of so many here in Orillia. We have a population of Indigenous people here that is larger than most municipalities. While not all will have had such negative experiences with the OPP as I have, I do like a preventative approach to how Indigenous people are cared for by those that are serving and protecting them.
I have had some extremely positive interactions with OPP officers and I truly appreciate and hold onto those interactions. They fuel my faith in the many who wear that badge. I have so much faith in the OPP and the growth I see with regard to Indigenous policing. This could take it one step further.
The negative interactions I have had, never as a perpetrator but as a victim, have further traumatized me in moments I was already being traumatized. I work very hard to heal those wounds and will continue to do that with an eye for advancing the relationship between the OPP and Indigenous communities.
I'm able to do this because I have those positive interactions to focus on. Many do not and I think this is so unfortunate, but that is a result of the inconsistency in how we are treated as Indigenous people being victimized and seeking help. I think it’s important to acknowledge that real harm has occurred and work towards meaningful dialogue and concrete action to ensure further harm does not occur.
As a survivor of MMIWG2S (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and 2 Spirit), I want nothing more than to see meaningful change and progress. The letter (with a proposed action plan included) I submitted to the Board was rushed but has a solid foundation to build on.
My hope is that it will create an open dialogue and plant a seed in the appropriate places that will eventually be watered and grow.
I think the public’s perception of the OPP is very mixed. You either think they’re doing a wonderful job or a terrible one. I think they are doing an extremely difficult job and can only hear the needs of the community they care for if those voices are brought to them and met with listening ears. Where Indigenous people are concerned, our voices tend to go unnoticed more often than not.
When we are victimized and seek the help of the OPP, it’s very much a gamble with the level of service we will receive as it depends entirely upon the officer. Incorporating a specialized Indigenous Liaison Team that would essentially act as a ‘middle man’ to communicate with the victim(s) and the officers to minimize any potential conflict or harm is a very meaningful step forward.
It is aligned with the Calls for Justice in the MMIWG2S National Inquiry Final Report (refer to Calls 9.1- 9.11 in the Final Report). It’s also aligned with the OPP’s own framework regarding Indigenous policing with regard to respecting Indigenous voices and Indigenous-led changes within their institution.
I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to bring this to the Board but I’d like members of the public (particularly Indigenous peoples) to also be aware of the gap in services for Indigenous people locally, the need to fill those gaps and to be a part of the conversation on how we fill those gaps.
I want to help create more positive experiences for Indigenous people where policing is concerned.
I hold onto my positive experiences but I do remember the negative experiences, too, and I know I am not alone. I think by sharing those negative experiences in a positive way is important in working towards meaningful relationships (with Indigenous communities) and needed changes.
Krystal Brooks
Orillia
