Windsor residents hold vigil after Colten Boushie verdict
'We just wanted to send our prayers to that young man and his family,' says vigil organizer
More than a dozen people gathered at Jackson Park over the weekend to vent their frustrations at the verdict in the court case concerning the death of Colten Boushie.
Boushie, 22, was shot and killed after he and four others from the Red Pheasant Cree Nation drove onto Gerald Stanley's rural property in Saskatchewan in August, 2016.
On Friday, Stanley, who was charged with second-degree murder in Boushie's death, was found not guilty after a jury trial.
"What happened Friday in Saskatchewan really weighs heavily on a lot of our hearts in the First Nation's community," said Beth Cook, who organized the vigil. "We just wanted to send our prayers to that young man and his family."
Kelly Kiyoshk led a prayer and dance during the vigil. The Indigenous man says he's outraged at the racism that still exists in the country.
"We don't matter in that system," he said. "To us, the feeling is Native lives don't matter."
"Just because the calendar has a bigger number on it doesn't mean the mentality has changed," added Kiyoshk, who said he has felt racism in Windsor.
Arrangements are being made for a second prayer vigil, which would take place Tuesday afternoon, from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the court house.