Saskatoon

James Smith Cree Nation leaders bracing as inquest into mass stabbing nears

A public inquest into the mass stabbings at James Smith Cree Nation and the town of Weldon doesn't begin until next week, but Chief Calvin Sanderson is already having trouble sleeping.

3-week inquest will examine 2022 stabbing deaths of 11 people at James Smith and village of Weldon

Jason Warick · CBC News(CBC)

He and the two other chiefs — Peter Chapman Band Chief Robert Head and James Smith Chief Wally Burns — met privately this week with residents and with the man overseeing the inquest, Saskatchewan Chief Coroner Clive Weighill.

They also invited CBC News to the community. In a series of interviews, they said they're working hard to prepare residents and protect their mental health.

"The hurt is still there. The grieving is still there," Burns said.

• Lawyer says Myles Sanderson release investigation should be made public before mass stabbing inquest

Head agreed.

"I think it's going to be very traumatic to see all of the evidence. Inquests are very clinical, medical, graphic," Head said.

"It's not a process that's meant to be empathetic toward an individual. It's a medical process that needs to be done to get to the facts."

WATCH | Chief says mass stabbing inquest process will be difficult for families, leaders: 

Chief says mass stabbing inquest process will be difficult for families, leaders

2 days agoDuration 0:56A weeks-long inquest in Melfort, Sask. will detail Canada's worst mass stabbing in recent history. Chief Robert Head says the James Smith Cree Nation inquest will be traumatic because the process is clinical, not empathetic.

Weighill said he'll do all he can to minimize trauma. That's part of the reason he visited the community. He wanted to hear their ideas and integrate them into the inquest, which is expected to run for three weeks.

Elders and grief specialists will be on site. Families who don't want to attend can receive regular summaries.

"The reason that this inquest has been called is to honour those people that died that day and have their story told," Weighill said.

"Can we find something that would prevent this from happening in the future? So let's honour the people that passed away. Let's have their story told, put rumours to rest so people actually know what happened. And hopefully we can get some good recommendations at the end."