Saskatoon

Colten Boushie remembered as 'good guy' at funeral on a Sask. First Nation

Family of a young man shot and killed on a rural property near Biggar, Sask., gathered Saturday to pay tribute to the 22-year-old.

Family left with questions and anger following young man's death

Family from as far away as Alberta and the northwest U.S. gathered on the Red Pheasant First Nation Saturday morning for the funeral of Colten Boushie. (OLIVIER FERAPIE/RADIO-CANADA)

A community is saying goodbye to a young man who was was killed on a property in rural Saskatchewan earlier this week.

Colten Boushie, 22, died after he was shot on Tuesday.

Colten Boushie was killed on a farm near Biggar, Sask. on Tuesday. (Facebook)

According to RCMP, five people were in a vehicle that entered a farmyard in the Rural Municipality of Glenside around 5:30 p.m. CST. The owners of the property did not know the people in the vehicle. A verbal exchange happened and a shot was fired, striking a man in the vehicle.

A man associated with the property, Gerald Stanley, 54, is now charged with second-degree murder.

Gathering to say goodbye 

Family of Boushie, from as far away as Alberta and the northwest U.S., gathered on the Red Pheasant First Nation Saturday morning for the young man's funeral.

Boushie's mother, Debbie Baptiste, said it wasn't long ago that her son was one of the men in the community helping with other people's funerals.

"We have our traditional ways out here, how we do things around here. And one of the things [is] when we're burying somebody, a fire is lit and somebody has to watch it all night until morning," Baptiste explained.

Debbie Baptiste described her son, Colten Boushie, as a "good guy" who liked to help out his community on the Red Pheasant First Nation.

"So my sons would do that," she said. "They'd sit out at that fire and they didn't even know the person who was laying in there who they were burying, but they wanted to help and that's how they'd help out."

This time the fire was lit for her son, who Baptiste said was a well-educated and caring young man.

Baptiste said Boushie had recently acquired his firefighting certificate and planned to go to university this fall.

"He was really a good guy who they took away from us so suddenly and he can't be replaced. And I'm going to miss him so much."

Looking for justice 

Many mourners on the First Nation said there are a lot of questions about what happened the day Boushie was killed and how the RCMP handled releasing information about it.

"We don't want this to be swept under the rug," Alvin Baptiste, Boushie's uncle, said.

"We're focused on laying Colten to rest right now but now my family will stand up and they're ready to support and rally for justice."

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Courtney Markewich joined CBC News in 2016 after working in radio for five years. She is based in Saskatoon. Born and raised in Saskatchewan, Markewich is passionate about sharing stories of the province's people. Her focus now is bringing these stories to social media on CBC Saskatchewan and CBC Saskatoon's platforms. Her work on The Pit was recognized by the RTDNA Canada National Awards for Excellence in Social Media in 2020. You can contact her at [email protected].