Navigating Boundaries: First Nations Policing in Canada

• In Event: Navigating the Covid-19 Pandemic and Calls for Reform: Police Perceptions and Responses

Abstract

Amid mounting calls to defund the police, Indigenous police leaders and communities are advocating for greater investment into First Nations policing. First Nations policing is administered under the First Nations Policing Program and is a distinct model of policing in Canada. Despite being introduced over three decades ago, there is still much unknown about policing under the Program, particularly the unique histories and sociologies of self-administered First Nations police services. My research involves extensive ethnographic fieldwork conducted over a period of several months in Akwesasne, a community that has developed its own self-administered police institution: the Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service. My research sheds light on the complexities of community policing in Akwesasne, the role(s) and experiences of police, and various factors that shape police work and policing in the community, including the multiple geographic colonial borders that run through it. My study also addresses some tensions within First Nations policing and discusses the importance of supporting Indigenous self-administered justice agencies as well as advancing scholarship in this area.

Author

• Roksolyana Shlapak, University of Toronto