THUNDER BAY — The death of Sherman Kirby Quisses had a profound impact on the community he left behind.
The inquest into the Neskantaga First Nation man's death in 2012 resumed on Monday, hearing from Neskantaga community members on the immediate effect Quisses's death had on the community and what it wants to see going forward.
Former Chief Wayne Moonias said the community was very limited in crisis support, leaving them to fundraise for Quisses's burial and funeral.
He added that while mental health workers mobilized from Matawa and the Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN), they never have enough and needed grief councillors.
Dorothy Sakanee, a community member who worked with Quisses, also addressed the inquest. She said Quisses did well at work and had showed no "strange behaviour."
"He had a family," said Sakanee, talking about the emotional toll his death took on the community.
Many, herself included, had heard he was coming home just before getting the news of his death, said Sakanee.
The community panel has now proposed numerous recommendations alongside others made earlier in the inquest process.
Some of these suggestions included more funding for crisis and grief services in communities, more First Nations involvement in the legal process for members going through it and a community liaison officer to ensure better communication between the legal system and the First Nation.
The panel also pushed for restorative justice and land-based healing to reduce the number of First Nations people in prison.
Quisses died on June 4, 2012 at the age of 35, after he was stabbed in the neck during an altercation at the Thunder Bay Correctional Centre — only days before he was to be released.
Adam Capay, who was also an inmate at the same institution at the time of the incident, was charged with first-degree murder in the death of Quisses.
However, a stay of proceedings was granted on the murder charge after a high-profile human rights challenge in 2019.
At the time, Capay's lawyer argued that his rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms were violated due to the treatment he received while incarcerated. That treatment involved spending more than 1,600 days in solitary confinement, ar some points in a Plexiglass cell with the lights on 24 hours per day.
Quisses’ family and his community pubically expressed disappointment that there were no criminal convictions for his death.
His family also previously expressed the hope the inquest will help prevent further deaths.
All possible recommendations brought by parties of the inquest were required to be submitted to the Inquest Counsel for review by the Presiding Officer by 2 p.m. on Tuesday.
The inquest was adjourned until Thursday for jury deliberations on closing statements.
With files from Justin Hardy.
