Peacekeepers exchange knowledge

Members of the Tsuut’ina Nation Police Service joined the Kahnawake Peacekeepers for four days last week in an effort to learn more about policing from other First Nations services.

“They observed everything that we do on a 12-hour shift, day and night,” said Peacekeepers spokesperson Kyle Zachary. “We exchanged information, shared our realities, stories, things that could help us improve, and things we want to work on.”

Constables Roy Fairbrother and Dylan Payson-Rideout of the Tsuut’ina Nation Police Service joined the Peacekeepers for two full shifts.

“They loved it,” said inspector Dawn Blake, a spokesperson of the Tsuut’ina Nation Police Service. “They said there’s just so many similarities, and they were really impressed with the leadership and the community outreach that they did.”

Peacekeepers chief Dwayne Zacharie said the visit was beneficial for both forces.

“It’s a great program, and I’m thankful they want to get involved with Kahnawake and the Peacekeepers and embark on this journey together,” Zacharie said. “They’re doing great things in their community and the same is true for the Kahnawake Peacekeepers.”

One area particularly impressed the visiting constables - the Peacekeepers’ dispatch system. The Tsuut’ina force doesn’t have its own dispatch and is reliant on the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) dispatch system, which is located almost 100 KM away from the community.

“Sometimes there isn’t an actual land address. We don’t have road names, it’s more ‘go right at the red barn, left at the blue house, turn at uncle so-and-so’s,” Blake said. “The RCMP doesn’t know where they’re dispatching to, so it’s the number The partnership first came about after a visit back in May of this year, when the Tsuut’ina Nation Police Service had stopped by Kahnawake with a range of frontline officers, executive members, and police commission members to discuss challenges and best practices in their respective communities. Back then, Tsuut’ina officers had been struck by the geographic similarities of the communities - Tsuut’ina is located just west of Calgary, Alberta, and has a large number of outside workers who come into or pass through the community.

“It’s a unique thing that we both have, we’re both butted up right next to a large metropolitan city with a major highway traversing through our borders,” Blake said. “We’re required to be innovative with our approach to keep our communities safe and at the same time police a visitor population that businesses bring in.”

Zacharie said that discussing those unique challenges was a highlight of the trip.

“There are very few First Nation police services, and there are even fewer First Nation police services that are in the geographical situation of Kahnawake, being near to a big city and having those issues,” he said. “The Tsuut’ina Nation is in a similar place as their community grows and expands on the cusp of Calgary, so they could see what it was like and understand the impacts for their community.”

In the future, Peacekeepers are planning to head out to the Tsuut’ina Nation for a similar experience in their territory - most likely in spring of next year.

“It’s really good to know how other First Nations police services are functioning in other parts of the country,” Zachary said.

[email protected]