SUDBURY -- In an effort to address the need to recognize the importance of the cultural essence and life experiences of police responding to community calls related to addictions, mental health and human trafficking, the Wikwemikong Tribal Police, and Northern Ontario School of Medicine University researchers have partnered to develop a culturally-based, trauma-informed policing approach for Indigenous police services.
Through the Province of Ontario’s community safety and policing grant, the province has provided WTPS more than $1.1 million to develop this program.
Leads in this partnership are staff Sgt. Scott Cooper, acting Chief, Wikwemikong Tribal Police and Dr. Marion Maar, professor at Northern Ontario School of Medicine University, who has a longstanding research relationship with Wikwemikong Unceded Territory.
When first looking at the processes and background of this initiative, the key goals become clear but so too does the scope and focal points of the relationship and roles Cooper, and Maar, professor and researcher with NOSM, play not only as key partners in this endeavour but also in the communities impacted.
Several of the key goals of this project include:
- To work to develop a culturally based trauma-informed policing approach for Indigenous Police Services.
- To improve community resilience related to risk of addictions, human trafficking.
- To train officers in order to be better prepared to respond to trauma responses manifested by victims.
- To create trauma-informed, land-based Anishinaabe wellness support for police officers, first responders, and victims involved with mental-health, addictions and trafficking calls.
Maar and Cooper shared their views and spoke candidly about what this project truly represents to the communities, the police officers, the victims, all first responders, and themselves as well.
According to Maar, the key researcher in this partnership, the process has two focal points. One that she referred to as the “Survivor Trauma”.
An important factor to be aware of, is that when crimes occur, the first responders, the police officers themselves, often are from these communities. They live there, grew up there and have witnessed the trauma caused by addictions, overdoses, mental-health and trafficking. Maar describes this “Survivor Trauma” component as one which focuses on the perpetrator and first responders.
Maar added that, the “Survivor Trauma” focal point of the program focuses on the “Victims of crime, on perpetrators and other people affected such as the police officers who live through this, who grew up on reserves affected by these traumatic experiences and opioid use which has become more and more dramatic,” stated Maar. The program must focus too on healing and wellness and key strategies and the personal mental health issues of these first responders.
Cooper added that, “Often the focus of these calls and response is the offender phobia, and there needs to be a focus on healing the victim."
In addition, Cooper spoke about the detrimental effects that COVID-19 has had on the people and communities. He talks about the increase in drug use, addiction and mental health issues because of the pandemic. “Community policing and health statistics indicate drug addiction opioid use in particular has increased dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic,” stated Cooper.
The result of this is multi-faceted and traumatic in its own right. Cooper spoke about, “The community concern with chronic drug related and mental health issues, family violence, loss of children to foster care, trafficking of women, crime and vandalism."
In Indigenous communities and society as a whole, Cooper made it clear that COVID-19 served to bring these issues to the forefront, so that doctors, teachers, social workers and all other community agencies like these, became more aware of the depth of these issues.
As their conversations continued, it became extremely evident that the need for this training is not only crucial but long overdue. The issues and concerns are not just focused around the crimes being committed but on the fabric of the communities, victims, families, children and police officers affected.
At an even deeper level of understanding, Cooper spoke about the historical consequences of colonial policies that still plague these Indigenous communities and its people. “The historical consequences of colonial policies like that of removing children from their families and children in school systems, experiencing abuse, physical, sexual, mental and spiritual abuse of generations of First Nation children,” described Cooper, need to be acknowledged and understood.
Cooper spoke at length about the trauma caused by the fact that historically, it was a police officer who would come to take the children away from their family and that as a result, the children did not fully understand these actions.
He spoke about the need to de-colonize perspectives and behaviour and mentioned the example of how caring, for Indigenous people, often means grieving their losses. “There need to be an effort to understand this sadness,” explained Cooper.
The integration of culture, language, traditions and history of First Nations peoples into the curriculum design and delivery of this trauma-informed police training is integral.
Maar, describes the relationship with the Wikwemikong communities playing an important part in the process of designing and writing this curriculum, and the need to maintain a focus on a culturally grounded land-based approach. When asked how her research, and relationship with the Wikwemikong community and its role in this partnership would affect, curriculum design and content, she spoke about the importance of “Staying focused on culturally grounded land-based approach to mental health and addictions, trauma-informed responses to family violence, and culturally congruent services,” stated Maar.
Furthermore, when asked about his view regarding the type of approach needed in the process of writing this curriculum and trauma-based training, Cooper mentioned a unique element-- that of focusing on individual strengths of those who will be trained. “I see a strength-based approach one that focuses on their strengths and not just weaknesses, the personal strengths of any other people involved,” says Cooper. “How Indigenous people mourn needs to be recognized as a strength, not a weakness.”
Indigenous learning and knowledge often depend on and looks to their Elders and Knowledge Keepers, as their foundation for this knowledge. When asked whether their Elders and Knowledge Keepers will play a role in the developing this trauma-informed response curriculum, the response was a definite yes.
Cooper described the need to develop trauma-informed models of policing that are grounded in the culture and wellness practices of their communities and its values. Learning for Indigenous peoples is founded on culture, religion and spirituality. Cooper added that, “Elders and knowledge keepers are attuned to local culture and there are a lot of similarities that suggest that there is a common view of life among our First Nations,” explained Cooper.
Maar, added another element that needs to be understood in order to also further understand the approach that both she and Cooper are taking when writing this trauma-informed curriculum. She describes the fact that typically teaching takes a didactic approach, one in which the teaching model follows structured lessons and focuses on lectures. “This is not a didactic approach. The approach will be different for different people,” said Maar. The approach will take into account the culture, language, traditions, life experiences and history of the Anishinaabe people.
Both collaborators, both partners, both having built and maintain relationships with these communities in their own way, made it clear in their discussion what the essence of this trauma-informed policing approach must have, when designing this curriculum, and how it will be implemented.
As they continue their relationships, and collaboration with the Indigenous communities affected, with Elders and Knowledge Keepers, with the first responders and police, and with each other, their intent will continue to be, to develop a program, which they describe as, “Focused on culturally-grounded, land-based healing approaches to mental health and addictions, trauma-informed responses to family violence and culturally congruent service evaluation.”