That is what Albert Johnson thought as he tried to escape the Yukon and get to Alaska.
Published on Dec 19, 2012
Pour a cup of tea and listen to this true story told from the people who were there. I am facinated with this story and the mystery of who Albert Johnson really was. The story of the Mad Trapper of the Northwest Territories- Albert Johnson- told by the RCMP officers who captured him. It's a tale that has stirred the imagination of Canadians for 80 years.
The year was 1931 and Albert Johnson, who had a cabin on the Rat River in the Northwest Territories, was accused of disturbing native traplines. When Constable Alfred King and Special Constable Joseph Bernard attempted to serve Johnson with a search warrant, he shot and wounded King and fled into the mountains. Constable Edgar Millen was then killed in another attempt to arrest Johnson. And so the RCMP division at Aklavik organized a manhunt.
That the head Mod rates your performance on the basis that you are supposed to do nothing and you are doing nothing? Therefore you are considered great.
This is kinda like the whole pumping crew. They do nothing but lie and get praise. They create nothing for others. They just pad their own pockets.
So basically you are a member of a do nothing cabinet.
What is a 'healing lodge' and why does Canada's prison system need more?
Canada AM: System failing Aboriginal inmates
Correctional Investigator of Canada Howard Sapers explains why he believes Correctional Service of Canada is falling short.
CTV National News: Corrections system crisis
The federal prison watchdog warns that there may be systemic discrimination against aboriginal inmates. Daniele Hamamdjian reports.
Extended: Watchdog on failed prison policies
Correctional Investigator of Canada Howard Sapers speaks about incarceration rates in Aboriginal communities at a news conference in Ottawa.
In 1992, Parliament passed a law that allowed aboriginal communities to establish and operate healing lodges to help natives transition from prison to freedom, and to take a lead role in overseeing their release and return to society.
But in the 20 years since, only four agreements for new healing lodges have been finalized. That’s added up to just 68 beds, according to a new report that calls on Corrections Canada to implement a 20-year-old law and use the funding that came along with it.
So what is a healing lodge, and why does Canada need more of them?
Canada failing Aboriginal inmates, watchdog says
Report to show aboriginal prison population has risen to 23 per cent from just 7.9 per cent of the population.
Sweat lodges are seen outside the Aboriginal Healing Range home at the Stony Mountain Institution in Stony Mountain, Manitoba, on May 19, 2006. (Winnipeg Free Press, Ken Gigliotti)
Inmates at the Aboriginal Healing Range home at the Stony Mountain Institution participate in a drum circle in Stony Mountain, Manitoba, on May 19, 2006. (Winnipeg Free Press, Ken Gigliotti)
Howard Sapers, Canada's correctional investigator and the author of the report released Thursday, says a healing lodge is a correctional facility that "is culturally appropriate, that deals with healing and with aboriginal spirituality, which involves aboriginal ceremony."
They are residential, custodial facilities, and under the 1992 law can be operated by aboriginal communities under contract to Corrections Canada. There are currently nine healing lodges across Canada.
The Correctional Service of Canada offered a similar description. According to its website, healing lodges offer services and programs that reflect aboriginal culture "in a space that incorporates aboriginal people's tradition and beliefs."
"In the healing lodge, the needs of aboriginal offenders serving federal sentences are addressed through aboriginal teachings and ceremonies, contact with elders and children, and interaction with nature," states a Corrections Canada backgrounder.
"A holistic philosophy governs the approach, whereby individualized programming is delivered within a context of community interaction, with a focus on preparing for release."
The lodges were created over concerns that mainstream prison programs weren't working for aboriginal prisoners, who are significantly over-represented in the system.
While aboriginal Canadians comprise just 4 per cent of the general population, they make up 23 per cent of the population in federal penitentiaries -- a number that has doubled since 1987.
"Aboriginal offenders spend more time at higher security levels, they typically don't get released until their warrant expiry or their statutory release date,” Sapers told CTV’s Canada AM Friday. “They are disproportionately part of the maximum security population, they are involved in more self-harm and security incidents inside institutions. And this seems to be flowing largely from the lack of accommodation.”
Meanwhile, the recidivism rate among those who graduate from the healing lodge programs is shown to be lower than those who come through the traditional prison system.
Sapers said the need for change is urgent.
"In 1992 when the law was passed the situation was considered critical. Now it's dramatically worse. The status quo is not an option and if we don't address this we're going to have far higher numbers of aboriginal offenders inside our institutions," he said.
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