Ivor Burns and Darryl Burns of the James Smith Cree Nation identified their sister, 62-year-old Gloria Burns, as one of the victims. Gloria, a first responder, was killed after being dispatched on a crisis call about the stabbings.
“We worked on the same team and it was her turn to be on call. Anyone could have taken that call,” Darryl told Global News.
A longtime addictions counselor at the National Native Alcohol and Drug Abuse Program, Gloria struggled early in life before finding meaning in her career, her brothers said.
“She devoted her life to helping people,” Darryl said. “She grew up in this community, and she had battled with addiction. She battled with a whole bunch of issues in her life before she started working in the field.”
Gloria’s friend Adrian Lee called her an “amazing woman, friend, and soul” in a post on Facebook. “She and I worked together and she was selfless and strong beyond words.”
Darryl told Global News that he knew the Sandersons and their struggles with addiction. They were “products of residential schools” and had a lot of anger, Darryl added.
Ivor said the James Smith Cree Nation and other First Nations communities needed help.
“We’re taking it as a teaching to give us the strength to voice what’s not being said,” he told Global News.
Wes Petterson
Wes Petterson was a 77-year-old widower who was remembered by friends as a kind man. Weldon resident Robert Rush told the BBC that Petterson was a gentle person who “wouldn’t hurt a fly.”
His neighbor Ruby Works also said that Petterson, whom she had known since she was young, was like an uncle to her.
“If someone needed a hand, he helped. He was a kind-hearted man,” Works told the BBC. “He didn’t deserve this.”
Lana Head
Source: https://www.buzzfeed.com/clarissajanlim/saskatchewan-canada-stabbing-victims