Grand Chief's band plays for inmates inside Manitoba's Stony Mountain Institution
A celebration of National Indigenous Peoples Day brought together inmates last week at Stony Mountain Institution.
CTV News was granted exclusive access inside the prison walls Friday as they gathered with community partners for an afternoon of music, dancing and a feast. It was all part of an effort by a Manitoba grand chief to reach out to an Indigenous population which is overrepresented in Canada’s correctional system.
"I wouldn't recommend anybody come here," said Jonas Budd, a 52-year-old Cree man from Saskatchewan serving a life sentence with no chance of parole for at least 14 years for second-degree murder.
The prison’s reputation is no secret to Budd. It has been the scene of in-custody deaths, stabbings and drug seizures. The offenders living in the facility are serving lengthy sentences for some of the most serious offences.
"When I first got here, I'm not going to lie, it was a big culture shock,” said Larry Duck, 31, of Onigaming First Nation in Ontario. “I'm not used to being in an environment like this."
For a few hours, the prison yard turned into an outdoor concert venue.
The performance was led by Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak Grand Chief Garrison Settee.
He's visited the prison once before but this time he brought his band, Keewatin Breeze.
Settee told the crowd he asked Janalee Bell-Boychuk, Stony Mountain Institution’s Warden, if his band could play after seeing a photo of Johnny Cash on her wall during his previous trip to the facility.
"We try to celebrate National Indigenous Peoples Day every year but this particular event is very special,” said Laura Kirby, Manager of Assessment and Intervention at Stony Mountain Institution.
The band started off by playing a cover of Trooper’s “We’re Here For A Good Time (Not A Long Time).” Settee followed that up with the Rolling Stone’s “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.”
They also played “Folsom Prison Blues” at the request of some of the men in attendance.
There was a feast, a powwow demonstration and a drum group featuring inmates including Duck.
He's reconnecting with his culture while serving a 15-year sentence in the institution's Pathways unit which has a focus on Indigenous healing.
"I participate in cultural ceremonies, I participate in sweats and I'm relearning how to live my culture again," Duck said.
According to a recent report from Canada’s correctional investigator, Indigenous people make up around 30 per cent of the federal prison population and just five per cent of the country's population. That is a big reason why the grand chief visits.
"I just wanted to take that step to show those relatives of ours here that they matter and we're waiting for them when they come out on the other side,” Settee said. “We want to be able to give them the hope to start a new life because everybody deserves a second chance."
A message that resonated with Budd.
"As a lifer, you don't have a guarantee that you're ever getting out,” he said.
For the past three months, he's been taking part in sweat lodge ceremonies and working with elders in the institution's Spiritual Lodge.
"I'm learning a lot about my culture. I'm learning a lot about myself and it's actually helping me with my healing journey because I am a product of the Sixties Scoop, my parents are a product of the residential schools."
While days like this remind him of the trauma First Nations people face, they also give him hope for the future.
The inmates who participated in the celebration signed up to take part.
They were all from the medium-security portion of the prison.
The Correctional Service of Canada said inmates who attended were advised they could provide $5 donation for food served at the event, however, it was not a requirement in order to attend.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Powerful tornado tears across Nebraska, weather service warns of 'catastrophic' damage
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.