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First Nation leaders across northern Ontario are calling for the launch of an Indigenous-led search-and-rescue pilot program after five missing people <\/u>\u2014 three from Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) communities \u2014 were found dead in Thunder Bay this spring.<\/u><\/span><\/p>\n During their annual Keewaywin Conference on Thursday, chiefs with NAN, a political-territorial organization that represents 49 First Nations across Treaties 9 and 5, voted in favour of a NAN search-and-rescue pilot project.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The program, which would be called NAN SAR, would provide search co-ordination, trained search personnel and volunteers, family support, crisis response and other assistance when NAN members are reported missing in the region.<\/span><\/p>\n NAN itself cannot operate such a program due to its mandate as a political-territorial organization; however, it has committed to support a designated operator to lead this work.<\/span><\/p>\n Nishnawbe Aski Nation Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler says First Nation communities need an Indigenous-led search unit that recognizes culturally safe search methods. (Sarah Law\/CBC)<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cWe can no longer just 100 per cent rely on the Thunder Bay police or other bodies that are out there,\u201d said NAN Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler ahead of Thursday\u2019s vote. \u201cWe need to create our own body to do this work.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe system as it currently exists, it is not respectful to the family, it’s not respectful to our communities, it is not respectful to the volunteers that come from our communities to assist in these search efforts.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n There is no estimated timeline for when NAN SAR could be up and running.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n NAN communities continue to mourn the deaths of Ashlynn Bottle, 23, Nodin Skunk, 25, and Kelsey Anderson, 36.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The TBPS faced heavy backlash as a result of these cases, with First Nation searchers saying their input and traditional search practices weren\u2019t taken seriously by the force.<\/u><\/span><\/p>\n Ashlynn Bottle, Nodin Skunk and Kelsey Anderson, left to right, were reported missing on separate occasions in Thunder Bay. They were later found dead. (Thunder Bay Police Service)<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Bottle and Skunk, members of Mishkeegogamang First Nation, were last seen together at the old Pool 8 grain elevator on the city\u2019s south side on April 26. The Thunder Bay Police Service (TBPS) confirmed they were no longer considered missing on May 15.<\/span><\/p>\n First Nation leaders have told CBC News that searchers from Cat Lake First Nation found the two dead inside the grain elevator.<\/span><\/p>\n Kelsey Anderson, 36, was last seen on May 9 in the Thunder Centre shopping area. He grew up in Kasabonika Lake First Nation, was a member of Webequie First Nation and also had ties to Nibinamik First Nation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Thunder Bay police, including the force’s missing persons co-ordinator, are seen at a scene taped off by police near the Neebing-McIntyre Floodway on May 21. (Sarah Law\/CBC)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The TBPS announced on May 25 that Anderson was no longer considered missing and later confirmed a 33-year-old Thunder Bay man was charged with manslaughter in connection with his death.<\/span><\/p>\n During a community-led effort for Anderson, searchers found the remains of 42-year-old Thunder Bay resident Richard Graham, who was reported missing in summer 2024.<\/span><\/p>\n Chief Matthias Anderson of Kasabonika Lake First Nation shared his frustrations during Thursday\u2019s Keewaywin Conference.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThere are so many players involved when it comes to finding a missing person and that there is a lot of miscommunication going around,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n Thunder Bay police Chief Darcy Fleury told CBC News on Friday that he\u2019d welcome a NAN SAR pilot program in the city, and acknowledges the importance of Indigenous knowledge during searches for missing people.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThat’s great to have that as another resource for the community,\u201d Fleury said. \u201cThe Thunder Bay Police Service is responsible for search and rescue in the city, so we welcome that approach that they’re taking to have trained volunteers to come in and give us a hand.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Thunder Bay police Chief Darcy Fleury, shown in a file photo, says he’d welcome a NAN search-and-rescue program. (Marc Doucette\/CBC)<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Fleury said he spoke with NAN leaders this summer to discuss their concerns, adding it\u2019s important for police and community search groups to be on the same page about expectations, roles and responsibilities, and what kind of information can be shared publicly during active investigations \u2014 especially criminal matters.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThey’ve identified it, we’ve identified it, that lack of communication.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The Broken Trust Report released by Ontario’s Office of the Independent Police Review Director in 2018 found evidence of systemic racism within the force<\/span><\/p>\n Since then, the force has been working on strengthening relationships with Indigenous leaders and groups to rebuild trust, including incorporating input from Indigenous partners into its missing-persons procedures, Fleury said.<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s been almost two years since Ontario\u2019s inspector general of policing, Ryan Teschner, announced he would evaluate how the TBPS conducts death and missing-person investigations, as well as its compliance with the province’s policing legislation.<\/span><\/p>\n The review was spurred by \u201cseveral complaints\u201d<\/u> about the TBPS that were filed with the provincial Inspectorate of Policing, Teschner told CBC’s Up<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n A spokesperson for the Inspectorate of Policing (IoP) told CBC News in an email on Monday that \u201cthe inspector general is currently reviewing the inspection findings to determine whether there has been non-compliance with the Community Safety and Policing Act (CSPA).\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhere this occurs, the inspector general may issue a direction to remedy the non-compliance. Following completion of the inspector general’s review, the findings report and any directions issued by the inspector general will be released publicly on the IoP’s website,\u201d wrote Rima Amri.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe IoP continues to monitor the Thunder Bay Police Service and board to ensure compliance with the CSPA and ongoing efforts to address issues that require focused attention.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" First Nation leaders across northern Ontario are calling for the launch of an Indigenous-led search-and-rescue pilot program after five missing people \u2014 three from Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) communities \u2014 were found dead in Thunder Bay this spring. During their annual Keewaywin Conference on Thursday, chiefs with NAN, a political-territorial organization that represents 49 First …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":71155,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[198],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-71152","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-198"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/upndownbeirut.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71152","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/upndownbeirut.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/upndownbeirut.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/upndownbeirut.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/upndownbeirut.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=71152"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/upndownbeirut.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71152\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":71156,"href":"https:\/\/upndownbeirut.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71152\/revisions\/71156"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/upndownbeirut.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/71155"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/upndownbeirut.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=71152"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/upndownbeirut.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=71152"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/upndownbeirut.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=71152"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/i.cbc.ca\/ais\/1.7109694,1713721920000\/full\/max\/0\/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%280%2C214%2C4096%2C2517%29%3BResize%3D796\")
<\/picture><\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\nDisappearances, deaths in matter of weeks<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n
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<\/picture><\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/i.cbc.ca\/ais\/151c4be0-533a-4b16-9d39-e4e44be79d8a,1779762771558\/full\/max\/0\/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%280%2C0%2C5760%2C3840%29%3BResize%3D796\")
<\/picture><\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nPolice chief welcomes NAN SAR concept<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n
\n\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/i.cbc.ca\/ais\/bbdb6222-76e1-4e79-aba8-764cf1703a17,1790368464182\/full\/max\/0\/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%280%2C0%2C3000%2C2004%29%3BResize%3D796\")
<\/picture><\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\nProvincial review of TBPS ongoing<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n
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