Families, communities of past Sask. tragedies offer condolences to James Smith Cree Nation, Weldon

Tragedies such as the one that engulfed James Smith Cree Nation and Weldon, Sask., can devastate a small community, something known all too well by those who have lived through them.

That's why people in La Loche, Sask., who experienced a mass school shooting a little more than six years ago, and those who felt the impact of the horrific Humboldt bus accident that killed 16 people in 2018 feel such empathy about the incident.

Tanzy Janvier, who lives in Saskatoon but was in La Loche at the time of the mass school shooting, says it's difficult for her to discuss the stabbing rampage in early September that left 10 dead and another 18 wounded, not including the two accused who also died in the days following. Nine of the deceased victims lived in James Smith Cree Nation, with another in Weldon, Sask., within 20 kilometres of the reserve.

Of the 18 wounded, 17 were admitted to hospital and as of Monday afternoon, four remain in stable condition.

While there are distinct differences between the two horrific tragedies, Janvier says there are similarities that remind her of the school shooting in La Loche on Jan. 22, 2016, that ended with four people dead, seven wounded and the 17-year-old killer in custody.

"Since then, anytime I've heard of a school shooting happening anywhere else, either in Canada or in the States, I would get these feelings of grief and just trauma," Janvier told Leisha Grebinski, host of CBC's Saskatoon Morning, last week while the accused in the mass stabbings was still at large.

"It's so similar to what we went through, where we had somebody in our own community commit this horrible thing," she said.

Janvier says her "heart … goes out to James Smith Cree Nation," knowing that the community "will be going up against a lot."

"I know that this is going to be an unending tragedy for them," Janvier said. "It's going to feel that way for a long time because it did for us in La Loche. It was just this sense of hopelessness and helplessness."

She said that while tragedies in small communities are difficult because of how tight-knit they are, it also helps with healing. "There was still a hug anywhere that I turned," she said of support during the victims' burials. "You could see your own grief on other peoples' faces."

LISTEN | A traumatic stress expert covers important aspects of healing after community tragedy

Pat Rivard, a traumatic stress expert who provided support after the Humboldt Broncos Junior A hockey team bus crash, told Saskatoon Morning that it's important to "walk alongside" the community as they navigate the traumautic experience. 

"Every community has strength and the James Smith Cree Nation is no different in terms of the inherent strength they have inside their community to work alongside them and use the very capable folks in the community to help them overcome this," he said.

Rivard says people respond differently to traumatic events, and it could take months or years to heal.