The Grand Chief of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation is welcoming the manslaughter verdict issued Monday against 22 year old Brayden Bushby.
34 year old Barbara Kentner of Wabigoon Lake Ojibway First Nation died on July 4, 2017, five months after being struck by a trailer hitch thrown by the accused from a moving car while she was walking with her sister on a residential street.
Alvin Fiddler says it’s encouraging that Justice Pierce rejected the victim-blaming presented by the defence and saw this case for what it was-a deliberate act with a foreseeable outcome.
Fiddler says this case is a stark reminder of the systemic racism and violence perpetrated against Indigenous Peoples in Thunder Bay and across the country.
He adds many recent acts of violence are raising fear that Indigenous lives are held at lesser value, and that the normalization of anti-Indigenous racism sees victims held responsible for their own deaths.
Fiddler says “Many recommendations have been made to prevent this violence, but far too little action has been taken. We stand today in solidarity with Barbara’s family and all those who seek to systemic racism and support equality and justice.”
Many recent acts of violence have raised fear that Indigenous lives are held at lesser value, and that the normalization of anti-Indigeneous racism sees victims held responsible for their own deaths. #JusticeForBarbaraKentner #MMIWG https://t.co/ftpJE7kImC
— Alvin Fiddler (@gcfiddler) December 14, 2020
