First Nation demands apology from Edmonton police for ceremony snub
Papaschase First Nation is calling on the Edmonton Police Service to apologize for inviting a former chief to a ceremony whose identity is being questioned.
Last summer on National Indigenous Peoples Day, Edmonton police unveiled a mural of the Pileated Woodpecker in honour of Papaschase First Nation with then-Chief Calvin Bruneau.
Current Chief Darlene Misik says Bruneau is not a verified descendent of the Papaschase Indian Band and refuses to get DNA testing.
Misik says a genealogist report filed in Court of King’s Bench was delivered to the EPS two years ago, and says she and other direct descendants were not invited to the ceremony.
“That respect is essential to having a relationship with us because we are from that nation, we are from that band and when we see this kind of thing happening in the face of our complaints, it says we don’t matter,” Misik told CTV News Edmonton.
A south Edmonton gas station was reopened in 2020 to celebrate Papaschase First Nation.
The chief says the money Bruneau used for the gas station was obtained under false pretenses.
EPS says it’s declining comment at this time.
CTV News Edmonton reached out to Bruneau but has not heard back from him.
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