Nearly a year after mass stabbing, James Smith Cree Nation leaders offer thanks

In a ceremony held Monday morning on James Smith Cree Nation, leaders formally offered thanks to those who offered aid in the aftermath of a mass stabbing that occurred on Labour Day weekend last year.

The Sept. 4 stabbing rampage left 11 dead and 17 injured and led to an intensive manhunt. The man responsible for the killings, Myles Sanderson died after going into medical distress shortly after his arrest on Sept. 7.

"There's a lot of horrific stories out there and yet there's a lot of resilience out there that they're balancing themselves to move forward," Chief Calvin Sanderson said while speaking to reporters after the morning ceremony.

Sanderson is chief of the Chakastaypasin Band, one of the three bands that jointly make up James Smith Cree Nation

"We need to start healing," Shirley Sanderson, an elder in the community, told reporters.

She said she was one of the first on the scene following the attacks.

"I'm still hurt [by] what happened last year ... All the houses, I had to walk around looking into them," Sanderson said.

During the ceremony, James Smith Cree Nation Chief Wally Burns thanked the many first responders who rushed to the community as the scope of the emergency became apparent.

"I acknowledge every one of you who [responded] to that call for help," Burns said.

Members of the RCMP and paramedics were recognized at the ceremony as well as community members who pitched in as the tragedy unfolded and the days that followed.

It concluded with a presentation of traditional star blankets to many of those individuals.

RCMP Assistant Commissioner Rhonda Blackmore was presented with a painting.

"It's amazing to think that it's almost been a year since such unthinkable tragedy happened here in such a beautiful place," Blackmore said earlier in the ceremony, which marked the start of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations four-day annual Traditional Health Gathering being held in the community.

"Gatherings such as this are the change for the future. So that James Smith isn't known as a place of tragedy, but is a place of hope and a place of healing and a place of positivity for the future," Blackmore said.