Saskatoon march of solidarity held for Colten Boushie on Tuesday

Hundreds of people took to the streets of Saskatoon on Tuesday in support of Colten Boushie and against the not guilty verdict in the Gerald Stanley murder trial.

On Tuesday another round of meetings, marches and protests took place around Canada, a response to the acquittal of Stanley, a Biggar-area farmer.

Stanley was charged with second-degree murder in connection with the August 2016 shooting death of Boushie, 22.

Many of those protesting felt the acquittal was an unjust verdict and sought to raise awareness of perceived injustices that existed in the trial. 

We needed to walk together and this was our chance to make sure that a message was given.- Regan Ratt-Misponas, Indigenous Students Council president

Regan Ratt-Misponas, president of the Indigenous Students Council at the University of Saskatchewan helped organize the protest.

He was at a round dance over the weekend celebrating achievements in the Indigenous community at the U of S when news spread of Stanley's acquittal. 

"There was disappointment, and a few of our community members felt it and you could feel it in the room," he said. "That night we kept dancing."

As the weekend came and went, he felt the need to show solidarity with those who felt impacted by the verdict.

"This was a family that needed support, a community of Indigenous students who were feeling it, especially from the comments and the statements that were being made on social media," said Ratt-Misponas. 

"We needed to walk together and this was our chance to make sure that a message was given."

​For Ratt-Misponas, the Boushie story hit particularly close to home.

"This year I'm 22 and being an Indigenous person, being Cree, being a nēhiyaw man I've had to hear stories such as, like, Neil Stonechild and Leo LaChance and missing and murdered Indigenous women and now Colten Boushie."