Olivia Custer doesn’t want violence to define Pelican Narrows.
She spoke at a virtual news conference Wednesday to address Monday’s fatal shooting and recent violence in Pelican Narrows, which she represents as a councillor with Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation.
“What happened on Monday is not who we are. This is being done to us by organized crime, by addictions, by decades of neglect,” Custer said.
“But our community showed up, security showed up, our health staff showed up. This is who we are. We pulled together as a community.”
Frustrated Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation leaders are asking the Saskatchewan and federal governments for more resources to improve public safety in Pelican Narrows, which is about 420 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon.
“It’s been very traumatic for the community and our members that live there,” Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation Chief Peter Beatty said.
“They are still very much concerned. A lot of them are in fear, apprehensive of going anywhere.”
Minutes before the news conference began, RCMP issued a news release stating they released the person arrested after Monday’s shooting and are again searching for the shooter.
Saskatchewan RCMP are trying to identify a person wanted in connection with a fatal shooting in Pelican Narrows, Sask., on Monday. Police released video of the male Wednesday.
Investigators released video of the person, who they described as a male wearing all black clothing, carrying a handgun and a cellphone.
The school and Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation departments remained closed to the public this week. Chief and council will reassess the situation Friday to determine what public safety measures remain in place.
Pelican Narrows was on lockdown Monday while RCMP searched for an active shooter in the community after a shooting that day left a 28-year-old woman dead and a man seriously injured.
Both victims are from Pelican Narrows, Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation confirmed. RCMP said the man’s injuries are now considered “non-life-threatening.”
Pelican Narrows declared a state of emergency in 2024 amid ongoing violence and has since enacted a series of measures aimed at reducing crime. The state of emergency has not been rescinded in the years since.
RCMP said Tuesday that violent crime in the Pelican Narrows detachment area increased 49 per cent in the last 10 years.
Monday’s shooting happened less than two weeks after leaders pleaded for help with what they called “ongoing and serious violence” in the community.
Recent safety measures include a ban on all private gatherings and a checkpoint staffed by private security at the lone road entrance into Pelican Narrows. All-terrain vehicles and other off-road vehicles are also banned for now because they’re often used in drive-by shootings and other crimes, the First Nation said.
Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation leaders plan to meet with provincial and federal officials to press their case for needing help.
“We are doing all we can to get resources into the community,” vice-chief Justin Halcrow said. “We have long-term plans, but we need immediate help.”
The First Nation has developed a community safety plan, hired a drug-detection dog and built a shelter for people experiencing domestic violence.
Leaders believe alcohol and drugs are causing much of the violence in the community.
Beatty said despite the shooter being at large, people should feel safer with all the law enforcement in Pelican Narrows right now. RCMP, the province’s Serious Incident Response Team and the Saskatchewan Marshals Service have officers in the community this week, he said.
“We are trying the best we can to get things back to some state of normalcy,” Beatty said.
The increase in security measures came after two homicides in the community, including a shooting death on May 21. Jaden Custer, 26, was killed and Brett McCallum, 31, is charged with second-degree murder.
On May 13, the remains of 16-year-old Jay’siiah Webb-Long of Ontario were found during a search, more than a year after he travelled to Saskatchewan and then went missing.
Political reaction
Premier Scott Moe spoke about Pelican Narrows during an unrelated event in Weyburn on Wednesday. He said drugs and addictions are often at the root of violent crime.
“We need to continue to do better, and in our province that means offering additional recovery opportunities, but also enforcement,” Moe said.
“We’re doing everything that we can to expand the tools that our enforcement agencies have to keep our communities safe, because whether you be in Pelican Narrows or in Prince Albert or Weyburn, we want families to be able to be safe and feel safe.”
The Official Opposition wants the province to “to get tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime” to help northern communities, NDP MLA Jordan McPhail said at a news conference Wednesday morning.
He told reporters leaders in the north are “fed up” with the lack of action.
“They feel like they’ve done everything that they can,” McPhail said.
“They’ve lobbied to provincial governments, to federal governments for additional help. And those calls, for the most part, have been completely ignored by the provincial government.”
Community Safety Minister Michael Weger said in a statement to CBC News he was in Pelican Narrows on the weekend to discuss public safety with leaders.
The recent provincial budget includes money to expand the First Nation Community Safety Officer program to more communities, Weger said in the statement.
