Kevin Mamakwa’s family and First Nation leaders are calling for stronger mental health, addictions and culturally based supports as an inquest begins in Thunder Bay.
The father of Kevin Mamakwa told a coroner’s inquest in Thunder Bay, Ont., that his family wants accountability and stronger supports for people in custody, nearly six years after the 27-year-old Kingfisher Lake First Nation member died at the Thunder Bay Jail.
Jonathon Mamakwa was the first witness Monday as the inquest opened into his son’s death on June 2, 2020. Kevin Mamakwa was a son, brother and father of four, and was also the nephew of Kiiwetinoong NDP MPP Sol Mamakwa.
“My son died in a place that should have been safe. That fact alone demands accountability,” Jonathon Mamakwa said in a statement issued through Nishnawbe Aski Nation.
Inquests are mandatory in Ontario when a person dies in custody. The five-person jury is expected to hear from about 15 witnesses over nine days, then determine who died, when and where the death occurred, the medical cause and means of death, and how the death should be classified. Jurors may also make recommendations intended to prevent similar deaths.
Jonathon Mamakwa told jurors he is no longer angry about his son’s death, but wants the inquest to draw attention to the need for more consistent mental health and addictions care in correctional settings, including culturally based supports. He also spoke about the need for better help for families who lose loved ones in custody and the role of sports and recreation in healing.
Kevin Mamakwa grew up in Kingfisher Lake First Nation, a remote Oji-Cree community in Treaty 9 territory about 350 kilometres north of Sioux Lookout. His father described him as a talented hockey player who withdrew from the sport and from school after being hospitalized following an assault. Jonathon Mamakwa also told the jury his son later experienced trauma after a violent encounter with a police officer.
Kevin began drinking in his early teens and later used drugs, his father said. He had been receiving suboxone, a medication used to treat opioid use disorder, before his death; the inquest heard his last dose was taken on May 14, 2020.
Kingfisher Lake Chief Eddie Mamakwa, the second witness to testify, described the pressures facing the community of about 550 people, including a drug epidemic and the loss of young people to suicide. He said the First Nation has had a suboxone treatment program for 15 years, but still lacks adequate local resources.
“We have limited resources in our community where we can help our people,” Chief Mamakwa told the jury.
He said the inquest should consider the impact of intergenerational trauma, including the residential school system and the Sixties Scoop, and said he wants more treatment options available in the First Nation so people do not have to leave the community for help and potentially face discrimination elsewhere.
Anna Betty Achneepineskum, a deputy grand chief with Nishnawbe Aski Nation, said in a statement that Kevin Mamakwa’s death “is not an isolated tragedy” and that NAN shares the family’s concerns about the conditions he encountered in custody and the supports available to him. Achneepineskum is expected to testify Tuesday about challenges facing NAN members who are isolated and need health, mental health, addictions and housing support.
The inquest, which is being streamed online in English with Oji-Cree translation, began after an earlier January start date was postponed following the sudden death of Kevin Mamakwa’s partner, the mother of his children.
If you or someone you know is struggling, the Suicide Crisis Helpline can be reached by calling or texting 9-8-8. Hope for Wellness, which provides counselling for Indigenous people, is available at 1-855-242-3310.
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