'Not some phantom person': community remembers Blood Tribe member Jon Wells

When Eugene Creighton reflects on his memory of Jon Wells, a man he knew for years, Creighton talks about Wells's quiet and gentle nature, and the good he did for his community.

He also notes Wells's skill as a rodeo competitor. Both men, who hail from the Blood Tribe in Alberta, were involved with the Indian National Finals Rodeo (INFR) with Creighton currently serving as the organization's secretary treasurer and Wells competing on the rodeo circuit for around 15 years.

Wells, a 42-year-old member of the Blood Tribe in Alberta, died earlier this month, and his death is one that's being felt deeply by his family, his community in the Blood Tribe and his peers on the rodeo circuit like Creighton.

"Whenever something like this happens to any of our people in the rodeo family, it impacts all of us," Creighton said.

Creighton credits Wells as being a very good steer wrestler and competitor on the INFR. Wells's career highlight in the sport was winning the 2012 Indian National Finals Rodeo Steer Wrestling Tour championship.

His death has been difficult for many people to process. Wells died in custody after an altercation with Calgary police on Sept. 17 at the Carriage House Hotel and Conference Centre in Calgary. The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) is currently investigating the circumstances around Wells's death and the officers' use of force.

Wells was at least the seventh Indigenous person to die after a police altercation in Canada in less than three weeks, from Aug. 29 to Sept. 17. In Alberta alone, Wells's death follows an incident where Hoss Lightning, 15, of Samson Cree Nation, was shot by RCMP in Wetaskiwin, Alta, at the end of August.

The series of deaths prompted an emergency debate in federal parliament, last week as MPs called for policy solutions in response.

Wells is also remembered for the work he did with his community on the Blood Tribe. He previously served as a president and member of the community's Ag Society. He was honoured by friends and family in a funeral service earlier this week.

"Jon is not some phantom person," Creighton said. "He was a human being. He was a cowboy. He was a community worker. He did all these things, and to lose him in this fashion is the tragedy of it all."