James Smith Cree Nation powwow honours Mountie for role in ending 2022 manhunt

At the beginning of the annual James Smith Cree Nation powwow, the bowl in the centre of the grounds spiraled with more colour than a rainbow.

A group of small children, teens and adults, each in intricately crafted dresses and regalia, jingled and jangled to a thumping drum as they circled the bowl like a tightly coiled snake.

It was the beginning of the Fort a la Corne annual traditional powwow, held at James Smith Cree Nation, about 200 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon.

But the Friday night celebration also fell within days of the second anniversary of the mass stabbing tragedy that devastated the community.

Inside the stream of people who danced through the bowl were RCMP officers, some of whom were involved in the apprehension of Myles Sanderson, 32, the man responsible for a shocking stabbing massacre in the community on Sept. 4, 2022. 

Ten people from James Smith Cree Nation were killed and 17 others injured. A man in the neighbouring village of Weldon, Sask., was also killed.

The pain of that attack still reverberates with community members.

“Oh, I think about it every day, all the time, sometimes it’s hard, brings tears to my eyes when I think about it,” said Joyce Burns. She and her husband of 39 years, Earl Burns, were brutally assaulted during the attack. Earl did not survive.

On Sept. 7, 2022, during a high-speed pursuit at the end of the three-day manhunt for the killer, RCMP Const. Heidi Marshall forced Sanderson off the road and into the ditch on Highway 11, the major four-lane highway that runs through the centre of Saskatchewan.

On Friday evening, she was the first of a handful of RCMP officers and staff given a traditional Cree starblanket at a ceremony. She struggled to hold back tears as two people wrapped the blanket — a blessing from the community for her bravery — around her, before James Smith Cree Nation’s director of justice gave her a hug.

“Not many people get those kinds of gifts, so it’s just to let her know that we’re thankful,” said James Smith Cree Nation Chief Kirby Constant.

“We also want to take the time and also to mention her, and kind of thank her for what she’s done, putting her life on the line for not only herself, but our immediate community and surrounding communities.”

In an emailed statement, the Saskatchewan RCMP said they were honoured that officers and employees who responded to the attack and investigated it were invited to the powwow.

“It provides them another opportunity to continue to heal alongside the community, survivors and the many who were impacted by the tragedy. We thank the organizers for including us, and for the work and care that went into this poignant event.”

For some, though, the RCMP’s initial response wasn’t enough. 

“I didn’t really like the way they responded,” said Joyce Burns.

“I was disappointed. I felt left out that day because I was at home suffering and nobody came to my aid, so that was kind of hard.”

Marshall’s manoeuvre to stop Sanderson

Marshall was at the wheel of one of the several police vehicles trailing Sanderson during the Sept. 7 pursuit, during which he drove into oncoming traffic along Highway 11.

When Sanderson returned to the correct lane, Marshall took her chance, and performed what’s referred to as a PIT, or precision immobilization technique, manoeuvre. 

It is considered a high-risk move at 80 km/h. According to a collision analyst report presented at an inquest into Sanderson’s death, Marshall performed the manoeuvre at about 139 km/h, without any prior training.

At the public coroner’s inquest into the circumstances around Sanderson’s arrest and death earlier this year, video taken from Mountie vehicle dashcams was played for the jury and those in attendance.

Saskatoon Police Service Det. Sgt. Ken Kane, who watched the video, testified that Marshall’s nerve and resolve were “frankly quite unbelievable.”

After his vehicle was forced off the road, Sanderson was arrested. Shortly after, he went into medical distress and died in police custody. He was found to have died from a cocaine overdose.