HEALING IN HOBBEMA

First Nation Taking Steps to Put an End to Violence

For sheer grit and determination in fighting back against the crime
that's plaguing their reserve, you have to hand it to the Samson Cree
First Nation, one of four First Nations in Hobbema, 90 kilometres
south of Edmonton.

Recently, the band voted to adopt an eviction bylaw to get
troublemakers off the reserve, similar to a bylaw enacted seven years
ago by the Enoch First Nation, which is located west of Edmonton.

Although some misgivings remain about the bylaw, such as the concern
that the evictees will simply move their troublesome behaviour
elsewhere instead of getting help, its enactment shows the band is
serious about restoring peace to their violence-riddled community.
The killings last year of fiveyear-old Ethan Yellowbird - shot by a
stray bullet as he slept in his bed - and his 23-year-old aunt,
Chelsea Yellowbird, were the tipping point for the community, which
has 42 RCMP officers stationed in its environs - among the highest
police-per-population figures in the country.

The bylaw, drawn up by Koren Lightning-Earle, a lawyer and Samson
Cree band councillor, contains checks and balances that will prevent
the arbitrary eviction of someone who may be the unfair target of a
whisper campaign or personal vendetta. In fact, there are quite a few
procedural hurdles to be jumped before someone can be evicted.

The individual in question must be charged with or convicted of a
crime that has placed at risk the life or wellbeing of people on the
reserve, or have been convicted of at least two property or injury
crimes in the preceding two years. The individual must be "a danger
to the health or safety of the community," and 25 residents have to
sign a petition for eviction. Then, a tribunal of at least three
members chosen by the band council must examine the petition and
recommend to chief and council that the eviction go forward, with the
order requiring approval of two-thirds of the council. The banishment
is not forever - proof of a change in behaviour can lead to reinstatement.

The bylaw also requires a criminal record check and approval by the
residency tribunal for anyone wishing to move onto the Samson Cree
First Nation.

The bylaw is just the latest in a series of crime deterrence
initiatives undertaken at Hobbema, including the removal of foliage
along roadsides, better lighting of streets, a curfew limiting youth
movement at night, a gun amnesty for reserve residents to hand in
their weapons without fear of prosecution, and even the establishment
of a cadet corps on the reserve to give kids something more
productive to do than getting involved in the drug trade that has
fuelled the violence.

Most importantly, the silence at Hobbema is starting to be broken.
Last Wednesday, police arrested a teen in connection with Ethan
Yellowbird's death, following quickly on the heels of charges being
laid against two other teens in that shooting. RCMP Supt. Curtis
Zablocki noted that community help enabled police to make the arrests.

Hobbema residents are under no illusion that change will come
overnight. Rather, a slow and steady process will lead to victory in
the end. Measure by measure, the Samson Cree are getting there.

They should be commended for their efforts.