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Two Indigenous elders said they were fired from the Paul Dojack Youth Centre after they raised issues about a cultural ceremony being breached by a staff member.
Mel Fisher and Calvin Pelletier began working at the detention facility that offers rehabilitation to youth offenders in September. Their contracts were terminated Dec. 5.
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Fisher said issues began in October when a staff member had breached protocol during a sacred ceremony at a cultural camp at the facility.
“Our ceremonies are not performances,” Fisher said. “They are sacred. They hold spiritual weight and responsibility when our cultural protocols are violated, it affects not only the elders, it affects the youth, the spirits that we call upon, and the entire community.”
During the cultural camp, Fisher said a staff member took part in the sacred ceremony while menstruating, something that breached traditional protocol.
“Women are very powerful when they’re on their time, and it affects our medicines from working, it can make people sick,” she said.
Fisher claimed that staff members threw out moose meat meant to make traditional stew.
Pelletier added that some staff members had complaints about smoke from smudging ceremonies.
“I was told they didn’t like the smell of burning a sage or sweetgrass,” he said.
Fisher said no staff members were forced to take part in cultural proceedings.
“We don’t expect you to believe in our culture,” she said. “But I do believe we’re helping the workers because they connect with the boys better.”
Fisher said she went through the proper channels at the facility to launch a complaint.
The Paul Dojack Youth Centre did hold a meeting about the staff members actions in November, through documents Fisher and Pelletier provided at a news conference on Thursday.
In the meeting minute documents, it said the staff member expressed regret about her actions, but no further disciplinary actions were taken.
“Our investigation revealed that some of our staff members lacked adequate knowledge and understanding of specific Indigenous ceremonial practices that you outlined in your letter,” said the director of the youth centre, Dan Elberg, in an email from November.
Fisher said issues began in October when a staff member had breached protocol during a sacred ceremony at a cultural camp at the facility. (980 CJME file photo)
980 CJME reached out to the Paul Dojack Youth Centre for a response, but it declined to comment.
Fisher said she was not happy with the results of the investigation.
“There’s no discipline, there is nothing. You guys are just saying it’s okay to disrespect our culture,” she said.
Fisher reached out to the Ministry of Corrections, Policing and Public Safety asking for further investigation at the facility.
In an email from the Deputy Minister Denise Macza in November, she said these issues would be better addressed at the facility level, and referred the matter back to the Paul Dojack Youth Centre.
The Ministry of Community Safety told 980 CJME that it will continue to support Indigenous-led approaches to public safety and justice.
“Providing education on cultural protocols to all employees is a priority and the ministry continues to review our policies to ensure best practices,” it wrote. “The ministry is actively working to ensure Elder support is available for the continuity for youth and staff.”
The ministry said it could not speak about specific issues relating to contract work or personnel matters as it would be “inappropriate.”
Fisher said she wants the ministry to conduct a third-party investigation into the cultural ceremony breaches and their contract terminations.
She said she would like to see cultural training become mandatory for those working in corrections facilities.
“So they understand,” Fisher said. “They don’t have to believe, they don’t have to practice.
“I just want them to understand what these boys (have) been through.”
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