How colonial racism fuels Saskatchewan’s criminalization of Indigenous men

 By Kathy Walker ,Assistant Professor , Department of Political Studies, University of Saskatchewan and Randy Morin, Assistant Professor of Indigenous Studies, University of Saskatchewan Boden Umpherville, a 40-year-old Indigenous man, recently died following a brutal altercation with Saskatchewan’s Prince Albert Police Service during his arrest. Twenty-five days before his death, police stopped the vehicle Umpherville was in, alleging it had been reported stolen. But according to CBC News, three other people were in the vehicle at the time, including the registered owner, who stated they had not reported the vehicle stolen. Witness video obtained by the CBC shows six police officers surrounding the vehicle and using stun guns on Umpherville multiple times. One officer used pepper spray, and at least one other officer appeared to hit Umpherville before police dragged him…

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