When I covered Andy Sydora threatening 2 shoot up Saddlelake First Nation & Ashmont school w/ 90% Indigenous kids in November no other media except the local paper was there. Police patrolling the schools, locked down, & Sydora got charged w 3 counts uttering threats & was

released the same day. The crime was racially motivated as acknowledged by RCMP & witnesses. St. Paul & area is crawling with racism against Indigenous. Now two Indigenous men have been murdered not too far away & honestly it doesn’t surprise me. It’s horrific. It shouldn’t have

happened. A family member of Jacob & Morris contacted me over the weekend saying the fam believed they were killed because they were natives out hunting. It’s a free for all out there on the prairies, many have told me they believe so. Moreso after Gerald Stanley was acquitted of

murdering Colton Boushie. Tensions are high all over given the current pandemic, economy let alone deeply embedded racial riffs in redneck country. Tomorrow police expected to release name of man charged in the killings. Family member messaged me & said “He was charged with

second degree murder. Must be white?” It’s assumed always that race was a factor in the killings of Indigenous people in Canada- especially with #MMIWG epidemic & widespread systemic racism. Now this family can’t even have proper funerals right now due to COVID19. A nightmare.

BTW- Jacob was shot 3 times in the head and Morris two times. The accused is charged with second degree murder. Hence why family member messaged me & said “charged with second degree murder. Must be white?” At this point until the killers identity released its speculation but

this sort of reaction, assumption of race being a factor is normal. It’s normal for Indigenous Peoples because racism is so embedded that it’s an automatic reaction to assume they were just another Indian murdered.