The Chief of the Blood Tribe has released a statement in regards to systemic racism and its historic impact on the reserve.
Racial issues have been front and centre across North America for the past few weeks after the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who was killed at the hands of a white police officer in the U-S.
Protests have taken place across Canada as well in support of the Black Lives Matter movement and that has brought attention to racial discrimination against Indigenous peoples in this country.
In the letter, Blood Tribe Chief Roy Fox says members of the Tribe have encountered “their fair share of systemic racism” in all ares including things like policing, accessing health care, education, housing, employment, and retail.
He states roughly 30 years ago, Blood Chief Chief and Council of the day had convinced the two senior levels of government that a public inquiry take place on “inadequate police investigations” regarding homicides of First Nations people in southern Alberta.
That inquiry recommended the establishment of what’s known today as the Blood Tribe Police Service.
Fox says the move in Canada to reconcile with Indigenous peoples should really be a move to address and eliminate systemic racism in all institutions and all ways of life.
