Ex-chief's probation angers Kaska women

Daniel Morris, the former chief of the Liard First Nation involved in a violent domestic assault last year, has been sentenced to two year's probation, outraging women who say the ruling sends the wrong message to a community plagued by violence.

Morris and his supporters pleaded his case before a B.C judge in Lower Post, B.C. on Thursday.

Crown prosecutors demanded an 18-month prison term for the former leader's assault, arguing domestic violence has reached crisis proportions in the Kaska community near Watson Lake.

Last summer Morris caught his estranged wife parked at a remote location with another man. He confronted them with a rifle and threatened to kill them both.

The man escaped after a tussle, but Morris spent the next two hours kicking, beating and sexually assaulting his former spouse so viciously she required three days' treatment in hospital.

Since the attack, Kaska leaders have been debating domestic violence problems in the community.

With at least 10 uniformed police officers providing extra security at the hearing, numerous former employees and colleagues of Morris told the judge jail was not the answer. They suggested some type of traditional practices might be better.

Then Morris himself, with arms locked across his chest lectured the court, the police, and the media for an hour on the historical injustices inflicted upon his community. The trial was held in the basement of the old residential school in the community.

"The last eight months have been tough, you have to understand what this building did to our people," he told the court. "...We had our traditional ways, you guys took it away in this school. Now we are puppets for your system."

He accused local women's groups of conspiring to oust him. He said media exposure had ruined his reputation and made his life hell the past eight months.

Despite written pleas from Liard women to jail Morris, B.C. Provincial Court Judge Dennis Schmidt said the former chief has already faced enough consequences and sentenced Morris to two years' probation.

Morris was ordered to abstain from alcohol, keep away from the complainant, report to a probation officer, do 60 hours community work and enlist in an abusive spouse program.

The judge also ordered Morris to put on a potlatch for the clan he offended, if it's deemed appropriate by elders, and also join a men's sharing circle if it's found appropriate.

Morris chafed at the judge's conditions.

"There's so many conditions i won't be able to fart without the cops being able to arrest me," he complained.

Judge Schmidt praised the community for breaking the silence on family violence, and ordered Morris to confront the issue with humility so the healing could continue.

Sentence 'a joke'

Women's groups were outraged by what they called a slap on the wrist delivered to Morris.

"I think it's a joke, I mean this woman went through a lot, and to have a judge who knows nothing of our community," says Melanie Miller, a Kaska justice worker in Lower Post. "This was not the case to be trying to make an example of going traditional and stuff."

Miller was the only person to publicly testify against Daniel Morris.

A group of Kaska women known as the Liard Aboriginal Women's Society submitted a letter with 49 signatures calling for Morris to be jailed. The letter says the assault is too serious to be handled by the community.

Prosecutors submitted police photos of the victim's injuries, but the woman refused to testify at the hearing.

Judge Schmidt pointed out to the court he had spent more than 20 years in the North, and had visited many communities in northern B.C. and Yukon.