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Documentary about Colten Boushie's death wins Canadian Screen Award

Colten Boushie, a 22-year-old member of the Red Pheasant First Nation, was fatally shot on August 9, 2016 on a farm near Biggar by Gerald Stanley, who was later acquitted.

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For Tasha Hubbard, a memorable exchange with an acquaintance highlights the value of the Colten Boushie documentary she and her team spent three years crafting.

The friend, Hubbard retells, mentioned to her that he took a group of people to a theatrical showing of her 2019 documentary: nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up. A critical success since its release — the film on Monday won the 2020 Ted Rogers Best Feature Length Documentary at the Canadian Screen Awards — it has generated a strong response with every viewing.

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“They told him, ‘You’re not going to like our response’ — when they walked in,” Hubbard said in an interview.

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When the film was finished, the response from the group was entirely different from their preconceived impression. They sat and talked, having “a really deep and honest conversation.”

Colten Boushie died Aug. 9, 2016.
Colten Boushie died Aug. 9, 2016. Photo by Facebook

Boushie, a 22-year-old member of the Red Pheasant First Nation, was fatally shot by Gerald Stanley on August 9, 2016 on Stanley’s farm near Biggar.

“Of course, it’s gratifying that the film has resonated so widely and deeply across the country, but there is a mixed feeling,” Hubbard said.

“Even to do the film, and this is something I’ve said from the beginning: this isn’t a film I wish had to be made.”

Boushie and four others drove onto Stanley’s farm on Aug. 9, 2016. Boushie’s friends testified they were looking for help with a flat tire. Stanley told court he thought they were trying to steal an all-terrain vehicle and, during a confrontation, he unintentionally shot Boushie in the back of the head.

A jury found Stanley not guilty of second-degree murder.

The circumstances surrounding Boushie’s death, the trial, and the acquittal garnered international attention and raised questions about racism, particularly in the criminal justice system.

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Boushie’s death and the trial inflamed racial tensions in Saskatchewan. At one point, then-premier Brad Wall asked people to stop posting racist and hate-filled comments online.

Hubbard said the response she has seen for her film has been similar to what was apparent following the shooting and all the way through the legal process: some people want to have a measured discussion, while others choose to inflame.

If someone watches the film “and has a response and it’s thoughtful, I’ll respond and talk,” she said. When someone has a “knee-jerk reaction,” or discusses the film without having seen it or talks about the shooting without a factual grounding about what happened that day, “I don’t have time for that,” she added.

Following the verdict, Boushie’s family called for changes within the justice system, including the end of peremptory challenges that allow lawyers to reject potential jurors without having to provide a reason. The challenges were criticized during the trial, with suggestions that they led to the exclusion of Indigenous people from the jury.

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Boushie’s family wanted a public inquiry, but Saskatchewan’s justice minister rejected that. He said the trial captured what happened and an inquiry wouldn’t make a difference.

At a systemic level, there “has got to be some pretty deep work done,” Hubbard said.

She wishes “our paths had been different from the beginning,” from treaty to the education system, social disparity to the legal system, she added.

“At the heart of that, I wish that Gerald Stanley had not reached for a gun and the day would have played out very differently.”

dread@postmedia.com

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