Norway House community calls for change a week after teen killed by police

People grieving the death of a teenager killed by police on a northern Manitoba First Nation say they want real change.

About 100 members of Norway House Cree Nation gathered outside the local RCMP detachment building on Thursday, a week after 17-year-old Elgyn Muskego was shot by a police officer outside a home in the community about 460 km north of Winnipeg.

Norway House RCMP say the boy was holding an edged weapon, and didn't stop moving toward police despite being told to stop.

The teen's family and members of the community say police should have used other methods to subdue the teen, who struggled with mental health issues and substance use, but was trying to get his life back on track.

Jonathan Meikle, who helped organized Thursday's Justice for Elgyn Walk on behalf of the teen's family, said the gathering was meant to channel the community's anger toward police into something constructive.

"We need our people to know that … we need to come together and work together," Meikle said Sunday. "That we're all part of this collective healing and that there's a lot of work to be done."

A petition written with input from the family calls on all levels of government to partner with Indigenous community to build culturally grounded mental health infrastructure, and for RCMP funding to be diverted toward supporting community-based responses.

The fatal shooting also brought a swell of emotions for the family of a Norway House teenage boy — who is non-verbal — who was Tasered by RCMP back in April. 

"It saddened me, it broke my heart hearing about and something should have been done when my nephew was a victim of the RCMP," said Heather Anderson.

During an unrelated event in Winnipeg Friday, Norway House Chief Larson Anderson said the community should establish a police force of its own.

"The solution is our own police force, not only because we we can do a better job, but we would have more sustained involvement of our membership to police itself," Anderson said.

"We have a better idea of how things are. We have our our bylaw enforcement officers. They've done far more work in in bringing drugs out of the community than the RCMP has."

Meanwhile, Heather Anderson said if RCMP continue to work in the community, they should be under more supervision. 

"Someone should always be with the RCMP," she said.