An Aboriginal component to better equip future police officers at Cégep de Baie-Comeau

Throughout the session, students enriched their knowledge of the major historical landmarks of Aboriginal communities, their political and legal relations, as well as the recommendations made by the various Commissions of Inquiry.

The teacher who gave this very first course, Lysandre St-Pierre, specializes in history and political science.

Lysandre St-Pierre maintains that integrating these notions with future police officers is part of the recommendations of the various Commissions of Inquiry.

This course allows, according to Mrs. St-Pierre to approach the concepts racial profiling, systemic racism, unconscious bias and of work on stereotypes.

The curriculum was developed with various members of indigenous communities, adds the teacher.

So that students have a background and open up with a little empathy [en] knowing the history of the natives and can modify or at least work on their attitudeshe explains.

Course well received by students

The students who have attended this first course are delighted with the concepts learned. Students reveal that these concepts are very different from those taught in primary and secondary schools and believe that all future police officers should have a similar education.

In high school, we don’t learn anything from their history, it’s just our history. I found it really interestingmentions student Noémie Fortin.

I really like it because I’m really interested in native cultureadds his colleague Léa Dufour who says above all to retain all the history surrounding the residential schools.

Another student, Benjamin Guillemer, believes that these new skills are important since police officers often have to work with different cultures. The biggest concept [que j’ai appris c’est] really open-minded and [de ne pas avoir] of judgment.

Students will continue their journey in the fall with an Innu language course given by Louise Canapé, linguistic and cultural development resource in the Innu community of Pessamit.

Louise Canapé affirms that it is important for Quebec police officers to be aware of the various Aboriginal issues.

The Innu woman considers that it is an apprenticeship that will allow a better understanding between future police officers and the natives. Avoiding difficult situations of tension, it can just allow a better understanding, a better communication also between two cultures.

According to Louise Canapé, this language course can even help the work of the police. For example, the pronouns do not exist in the same way in the Innu language as in the French language, she explains, which can sometimes lead to confusion in an interrogation. Hence the importance of knowing how to question the person to find out who did whatshe says.

” In Innu, we don’t have the “he” and the “she”, it’s the context that lets you know if it was a woman or a man who was involved in a situation. »

According to her, this can also give confidence to an Aboriginal person who will have to enter into a relationship with the police force.

At the end of the course, students should be able to communicate six sentences in the Innu language.

Cégep de Baie-Comeau pioneer

I think it’s unique in Quebec. I am convinced that we are the first to have started this turnstates the acting director of studies at the Cégep de Baie-Comeau, Roland Morin.

The director of studies adds that future police officers will also be made aware of the realities of remote regions.

He reports that two Innu students will be part of the police technology cohort next fall.

The teacher Lysandre St-Pierre specifies that the course is in its very infancy and hopes that in the coming years more practice in the field will be organized. As long as we don’t practice them, we forget them and we become a little rusty. I think that’s the challenge.

More and more courses related to Aboriginal cultures are offered at Cégep de Baie-Comeau. For example, last year, a French–Innu lexicon was created to better integrate Aboriginal students and soon all staff will have access to cultural safety training.

For Louise Canapé, these initiatives can give the Innu students who attend Cégep even more confidence.