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First Nations leaders in Canada are reacting to the sentencing of a Manitoba serial killer who murdered four Indigenous women.
As Dan Karpenchuk reports, Jeremy Skibicki was sentenced last week to four life sentences with no chance of parole for 25 years.
The 37-year-old Skibicki appeared to be without emotion in the prisoner’s box of the Manitoba Court of King’s Bench during the sentencing.
He had been found guilty in July of the murders of four Indigenous women: Morgan Harris, Marcedes Myran, Rebecca Contois, and an unidentified victim given the name of Buffalo Woman.
He was sentenced for each of the four counts of first degree murder.
The sentences in Canada are served concurrently rather than consecutively. That means an automatic life sentence of 25 years with no parole.
Skibicki won’t be able to apply for parole until he is 60 years old.
Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak is the National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations. She says her heart still hurts for the families of the victims.
“I want to uplift the families. I know it’s been a long hard fought battle, and I want to lift them up for trying to fight so hard to get justice for their families. It shouldn’t have taken so much political pressure and they stayed steadfast through it. And I lift them up in a good way. And I think no other families should have to go through what these families have endured.”
The court heard, during the trial, how Skibicki preyed on Indigenous women at homeless shelters, invited them back to his apartment, and abused them. Then he killed them and disposed of their bodies in garbage bins and dumpsters.
Sheila North is a former Grand Chief in Manitoba.
“This is a very clear example of the problem that persists in Canada, that societal problem. And this unfortunately is still happening today. People targeting Indigenous women just because of their vulnerability. Just because of their social status and what people perceive of who we are as Indigenous women and girls and two-spirited people in our own country.”
In a statement, Cathy Merrick, the Grand Chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, said the killings left a deep scar on First Nations people and the reverberations will be felt for generations.
The crown prosecutor said Skibicki can never be punished enough for his crimes.
A new program at Arizona State University (ASU) will help tribes with resources and support to establish a plan for digital sovereignty.
Mark Richardson has more.
ASU’s Center for Tribal Digital Sovereignty is designed to help Native Americans plan and develop their digital footprint.
The project is a joint effort between the American Indian Policy Institute and the school’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law.
Tracy Morris, executive director of the institute, said it is all about providing full access to the digital universe.
“Tribal digital sovereignty is the exercise of self-determination of all digital aspects in a tribe, that the tribe itself controls. That could be the infrastructure, it could be the data, it could be the physical networks, it could be their cloud or whatever.”
Morris argued developing a platform for digital information is critical to tribal autonomy.
The program will support tribes in Arizona and across the U.S. in achieving equal access to the governance, social, and economic advantages of broadband and other technologies.
Morris pointed out digital sovereignty encompasses all aspects of a tribal nation’s digital plan and footprint, such as tribal codes, managing data protection, digital equity, network infrastructure, development of funding sources, and capacity building.
“The point is for tribes to be able to implement the best thing that they can and exercise their digital sovereignty so that they can serve their members. For the end user, they should be able to have the same access as, theoretically, you or I have in a city.”
Morris added broadband and other communications technologies are a necessary 21st-century platform for tribal independence.
She believes establishment of the Center is a significant turning point for Native Americans.
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