"It seemed to me there was a great deal of healing going on" Ann Roberts
By Patty Pitts
The relationship between lawyers, police officers and Aboriginal people is frequently an edgy triad. But that didn't prevent UVic law student Ann Roberts from envisioning an opportunity to bring the three groups together for an exchange of ideas to build mutual understanding and respect. That opportunity occurred Nov. 1 to 3 when 24 UVic law students, five faculty members, including Dean of Law David Cohen, and 11 RCMP and municipal police officers gathered with Tsartlip elders on their reserve at Brentwood Bay for an Aboriginal cultural awareness camp organized, primarily, by Roberts.
"It seemed to me that there was a great deal of healing going on," said an obviously-moved Roberts after attending the camp. "There was respect given and received by all parties."
"The amount of learning that we did was far beyond what we expected," says Law Dean David Cohen, who participated in the weekend. "By Sunday afternoon it was very clear that, although exhausted, we'd be changed by this permanently."
While an undergraduate student at the University of Calgary, Roberts heard of a similar camp held by the Peigan and Siksika people of the Blackfoot Nation for members of the RCMP. After meeting Native Alberta RCMP officer Cpl. Harley Crowshoe as part of her research for a Canadian Studies course, She began thinking about how the camp concept might also benefit those who interpret the law.
She maintained contact with Crowshoe after transferring to UVic and, with his help and that of fellow law student Chris Pallan (a First Nations RCMP officer who is taking a break from his studies this term), Roberts began working on the logistics of holding a camp similar to the one held in Alberta. Bolstered by the "incredibly phenomenal" support she received from Crowshoe and RCMP headquarters in Ottawa and Vancouver, who also provided her with contacts within local police forces, Roberts recruited fellow law students and faculty members whose enthusiastic response created a waiting list. According to Roberts, there has been only praise for the exercise.
"I have not heard any negative comments," says Roberts. "This definitely has to happen again. This has to be an annual event to keep the lines of communication open. The law students learned a lot from the RCMP and municipal police officers and came to appreciate what they deal with in their lives. Two police officers have offered to help me organize a second camp."
The gradual blurring of traditional lines of defences occurred over two nights spent camping out, dorm-style, in the Tsartlip cultural centre, hours spent in silence listening to Tsartlip elders share their personal and band history, and an afternoon spent sharing the rituals of the sweat lodge.
Cohen added the experience taught him, in a way that a conventional course couldn't, about "how wide and deep the cultural gap is between First Nations people and non-Native people in terms of how they learn and how they relate to one another." He cited how participants did not interrupt an elder's lengthy presentation with questions as a show of respect.
"If I had a student who didn't ask a question," explains Cohen, "I might interpret that to mean a lack of attention or a lack of engagement."
He also praised the camp for giving lawyers and would-be lawyers the opportunity to learn more about the police and their impressions of First Nations people.
"Some of the police commented that they'd never had the opportunity to interact with First Nations people about natural and regular life in their community. Instead, they'd only deal with each other when called to investigate a criminal offence. The camp gave the police the chance to talk to the Tsartlip chief about day-to-day things."
Roberts remarked how the level of trust between the Tsartlip elders and the camp participants increased as the weekend wore on.
"On Sunday afternoon, the elders addressed questions arising from the morning discussion groups and it was a very, very emotional thing that they would become so open with us. They shared something very personal with us which touched all of us very deeply. One elder said he was speaking not from his lips but from his heart."
While eager to talk about the camp, Roberts does not disclose many details about the rituals, songs and dances she observed, sensitive that to do so might compromise the new-found trust and fellowship that was evident at the wrap-up banquet. But Roberts does tell of a poignant moment one evening in the Tsartlip longhouse when band dancers performed a special dance for her with cedar boughs.
"They said it was to sweep away burdens and sadness," says Roberts, who has used a wheelchair since she was three. "I had never been so honoured before."