Fighting for my Brother
- Marjorie D.L. Roden | June 13, 2023
A memorial event is to be held in Prince Albert’s west flat area on Friday for Boden Umpherville.
On April 1, the 40-year-old man originally from the Ahtahkakoop First Nation was involved in a violent altercation with a group of on-duty officers from the Prince Albert Police Service.
The incident was captured on video and shared on social media and with several news outlets.
Umpherville sustained serious injuries and was hospitalized for several weeks. On April 26, his family decided to take him off life support after the doctors declared him to be braindead.
Chase Sinclair, spokesman for the family, says the family still has questions regarding what happened and is looking for public support in their quest.
First and foremost, they want access to Umpherville’s medical records.
But most importantly, they want to see changes within the police service to prevent similar tragedies from happening in the future.
“I believe there's a lot of systemic racism involved here with our justice system,” said Sinclair.
He said the racism Indigenous people face is not new.
“Our geographical setting is unique,” said Sinclair about Prince Albert.
The city serves as a gateway between the north and south. As a result, many Indigenous people move to Prince Albert to access the amenities of the south, while remaining relatively close to their northern communities.
“You come here to live and, and learn and, and to try to be successful,” said Sinclair. “But first contact is no different than it was a thousand years ago. It's the same … There's just the oppression.”
Despite what he's seen and experienced as an Indigenous person, he believes unity is the answer.
“There’s a lot of colonial rooted systems and institutions that need to change before our community can get better,” said Sinclair. “So, let's advocate for each other. It's not too late to advocate for the brown people.”
The vigil is open to the public and an invitation has also been sent to the police.
“I think that it's relevant, and that they need to be there because you can't paint all cops with one brush either, right? There are some good ones,” said Sinclair. “Whether they come or not, I don't know. But I'm throwing that out there.”
He hopes the police will show up so they can begin to understand how this kind of tragedy impacts the Indigenous community.
“We're not the people society says we are,” said Sinclair. “This man was a good man, very good man. And he had potential. The potential to change the lives of a lot of people and it was just cut short.”
The Prince Albert Police Service is no stranger to criticism.
On May 18, the police chief announced his retirement after an investigative report was released, which proved neglect of duty by the police involving the 2022 death of an infant.
“The reason I'm inviting (the police) is because I think they live in one world and we live in another,” said Sinclair.
The vigil takes place behind the Bernice Sayese Centre located at 1350 15th Ave West starting at 3 p.m.
“We're a community,” said Sinclair. “Let's deal with that as a community.”