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Articles on Colten Boushie

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Colten Boushie’s family fought for accountability after the racist actions of the RCMP as they investigated the death of her son who was shot and killed by a local farmer. Here she holds up his photo during the 2018 trial. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Liam Richards

Watchdog report into RCMP investigation of Colten Boushie’s death confirms police racism

Years of research show that Indigenous, Black and racialized people experience over-policing but also, under-policing, as was the case with the RCMP investigation into Colten Boushie’s death in 2016.
Debbie Baptiste, the mother of Colten Boushie, enters the Court of Queen’s Bench as the jury is in deliberation in the trial of Gerald Stanley, the farmer accused of killing her 22-year-old son, in Battleford, Sask., Friday, February 9, 2018. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Liam Richards)

How racial bias likely impacted the Stanley verdict

Racial bias likely played a role in the Gerald Stanley case. This article explains how racial dynamics and process failures enabled systemic racism to play a part in Stanley’s acquittal.
Gerald Stanley enters the courthouse in Battleford, Sask., in February 2018 during his trial in the death of Colten Boushie, an Indigenous man. The use by Stanley’s defence team of peremptory challenges produced an all-white jury in his trial. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Liam Richards

A good first step towards diverse, impartial Canadian juries

The Canadian government’s criminal justice bill would abolish what are known as peremptory challenges. Here’s why that’s long overdue.
Debbie Baptiste, mother of Colten Boushie, is seen here in the House of Commons in February 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

I am a Mi’kmaq lawyer, and I despair over Colten Boushie

Indigenous people are seriously questioning whether Canada is truly changing following the acquittal of the man accused of killing Colten Boushie. A Mi'kmaq lawyer explains the despair.
Colten Boushie’s uncle Alvin Baptiste raises an eagle’s wing as demonstrators gather outside of the courthouse in North Battleford, Sask., on Saturday, Feb. 10, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Matt Smith

The myth of the Wheat King and the killing of Colten Boushie

In the acquittal of Gerald Stanley we must remember how one-sided systematic remembering in Canada has been. We must remember how Canadian-state law created the myth of the homesteader as Wheat King.
Social media has become a place of vitriolic myths about Indigenous peoples in the wake of the Gerald Stanley trial for the killing of Colten Boushie. Here, a vigil in support of Colten Boushie’s family on Feb. 13, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

Social media full of vitriolic myths in the aftermath of the Stanley trial

Social media posts since Gerald Stanley’s acquittal have been saturated with vitriolic rants and myths. If reconciliation is to be more than an aspiration, settlers must acknowledge our culpability.
People gather in Edmonton during a rally in response to Gerald Stanley’s acquittal in the shooting death of Colten Boushie. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson

Broken system: Why is a quarter of Canada’s prison population Indigenous?

Colten Boushie’s death and the subsequent acquittal of his killer has fuelled loud calls for reforms to Canada’s criminal justice system and its treatment of the Indigenous. Why has it taken so long?
Indigenous community members are doing the work to situate Colten Boushie’s life and death within the colonial context, answering not if race was a factor, but how and why. Colten Boushie’s brother, Jace Boushie, looks on during a media event at the Battlefords Agency Tribal Chiefs office after a jury delivered a verdict of not guilty in the trial of Gerald Stanley. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Liam Richards

Stanley trial highlights colonialism of Canadian media

What can the events surrounding Colten Boushie’s death, the trial verdict and its media coverage tell us about the role of journalism and journalists in relation to Indigenous concerns in Canada?
Colten Boushie’s uncle, Alvin Baptiste, and his brother Jace Boushie address demonstrators gathered outside of the courthouse in North Battleford, Sask.,on Feb.10, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Matt Smith

‘Clearing the plains’ continues with the acquittal of Gerald Stanley

It’s time for an overhaul of the justice system in Canada: How juries are selected, how Indigenous victims are treated and to challenge embedded racism within police forces and courts.

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