On July 17th, 2022 Colby Tootoosis was the victim of an assault at a private residence in Battleford.

Tootoosis of the Poundmaker Cree Nation was unhooking a tractor trailer when he was approached by three men who verbally confronted Tootoosis before one of the men grabbed Tootoosis by his braids, pulled him to the ground and struck him in the face. This assault was captured on camera, and occurred as his 6 year old daughter sat in the cab of the truck.

Eleanore Sunchild owns the property where the assault took place, and posted the security footage of the assault. A statement by Sunchild was released in a media release by the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations.

“We are sickened and saddened by the anger, violence and racism that was brought into our yard on Sunday, July 17th, 2022. This was seemingly an act of vigilante justice which resulted in our friend being brutally assaulted. I posted this video because racism kills and it has to stop.” Said Eleanore.

The victim – Colby Tootoosis is a respected member of the Poundmaker First Nation who does tireless leadership and advocacy work.

The FSIN is calling upon the RCMP to lay appropriate charges as the video provided by Sunchild shows the assault taking place.

In the expletive laden video three men confront Tootoosis and demand “where are my pants?”, they allegedly thought that Tootoosis was responsible for some sort of theft. Tootoosis appears incredulous in the video.

To date – no charges have been laid against the three men who attacked Tootoosis.

The RCMP could not be reached for comment on this matter.