Belleville police looking to become better neighbours to Tyendinaga

By Max Reid

BELLEVILLE – Belleville police are taking steps to help strengthen the relationship between officers and the city’s First Nations neighbours to the east in Tyendinaga Territory.

The department’s new Indigenous Cultural Awareness training program gives officers the opportunity to familiarize themselves with Indigenous culture and history: the politics and historical context behind treaties, land claims and residential schools, as well as hands-on experience with cultural items such as traditional medicine bundles, flags and wampum belts.

Belleville police collaborated with the OPP’s Indigenous Training Unit to develop the program, working closely with former Tyendinaga police officer Mike Hill to help put an emphasis on Haudenosaunee culture specifically.

Hill “is a retired OPP and Tyendinaga officer who policed in First Nations for 16 years and then the last eight or nine years of his career were with the Ontario Provincial Police in the Indigenous Training Unit,” Belleville Staff-Sgt. Kris Patterson said.

“He brought a lot from the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte. He resides there. He policed there and so he has a very good understanding of what’s happening within the territory.”

Citing demonstrations that have occurred in Tyendinaga in the past, Patterson said there is a need for officers to do better when it comes to operating effectively on First Nations land.

“Some of the protests that we’ve had in our area – they’re important for officers to have as background information about what’s happened locally in the past and how those incidents were addressed in the policing community. There were a lot of things that, looking back, could have been done differently.”

Belleville Police Chief Ron Gignac, who is of Métis descent himself, said in a prepare statement about the training program:

“Our relationships with our friends and neighbours who are Indigenous are of vital importance to us, and our desire to infuse vital knowledge, teachings and understandings of culture, tradition and history is paramount to our organization. Our officers and staff are excited about the forthcoming training and are grateful for the opportunity to learn more. They feel that Mike Hill will infuse knowledge, wisdom and understanding within our service, and in turn will enhance the current relationships that we enjoy, and develop relations yet to be forged because of this interactive awareness training.”

The program will be run on a two-year cycle to account for new staff and officers who have not received the training.