'From now on, you're going to talk': Why Colten Boushie's cousin decided to speak out

Jade Tootoosis considered ColtenBoushie her brother.

Since his death in August 2016, she's become a spokesperson for the family as they call for legal and political action from government leaders and at the United Nations.

Herdecision to speak up is one she did not make alone.

Following Boushie's death, she was sitting with her grandmother at their family's home on the Red Pheasant Cree Nation in Saskatchewan, when a reporter came to speak with them.

• Colten Boushie documentary makes history as Hot Docs opener

"I usually follow the teachings within my family that as the younger generation, you don't speak before or in front of your elders. You're the student and they're the teacher in a sense," she told CBC Edmonton's Radio Active.

"They're usually the ones doing the speaking and you're doing my listening, so when I'm with my kokum I'll chat with her and I'll speak but I usually don't speak in depth.

"After my kokum spoke first,I spoke as well, sharing not only information about who he was, I started talking about colonialism and intergenerational impacts upon Indigenous people.

"After the reporter left my kokum looked at me and she said: 'From now on, you're going to talk."

As one of the first members in her family to earn a post-secondary degree, Tootoosis said she also used what she learned from her degree in Native Studies at the University of Alberta in her advocacy.

"In my upbringing when an elder, especially your grandmother or your grandfather, when they tell you to do something big they're doing it in from a good place because they see potential," she said.

"They see gifts, they see strength, but most of all they're tasking you with a responsibility. And in that moment my kokum saw something that I was able to contribute."

'I see such strength'

Boushie died from a gunshot to the back of his head after entering Gerald Stanley's rural property with four others from the Red Pheasant Cree Nation.

Close to two years later, Stanley was acquitted of second-degree murder on Feb. 9, 2018.

A new documentary about Boushie callednpawistamsowin: We Will Stand Up premieres in Edmonton on June 1 at Metro Cinema.

It's the first time the film, which opened the documentary festival Hot Docs in Toronto, will screen in Tootoosis's hometown.

• 'Deep grief, and outrage': Family of Colten Boushie shares frustration at justice system in new film

The film, directed by Tasha Hubbard, follows Boushie's family through the process of the criminal trial.

Tootoosis said the trial was difficult for the family, who weren'tconsulted by the Crown, or called to the stand as witnesses.

"We had to sit in that courtroom and we couldn't say anything or point anything out," she said.

"We were neither heard nor represented and we didn't feel included at all."

Since the trial, the family is now pursuing two legal civil cases, one against the RCMP and another against Stanley.

In 2018, the family spoke at the United Nations, to call for an investigating into the treatment of Indigenous people by Canada's justice system.

• Family's civil suit claims Gerald Stanley recklessly caused Colten Boushie's death
• 'I'm confident we can make these changes': Boushie family takes case to Assembly of First Nations

Hubbard said while she didn't know the outcome of the trial when she started filming, she knew there was a story to tell.

"I just knew that there are many Indigenous families who have found themselves caught up in the justice system, often through no fault of their own, and that is they've run into problems and because of the scope, and because of how much Colten's passing affected communities across Canada I felt that it was important to follow the family through this," she said.

Hubbard said thefamily's story also resonated with her own.

Her family members are featured in the film as well.

"I just felt what happened in a really personal way," she said.

"Being a mother of an Indigenous boy who's going to be out in the world in a few years wondering how he's going to be perceived in a world where people felt able to celebrate this young man's death."

The family have received repeated threats since Boushie's death. Tootoosis said letters continue to be sent to their lawyer, and sometimes their home.

Tootoosis said watching the film now is difficult for her, but it also gives her hope.

"I cry every time I watch the film. It's hard to watch. My body remembers everything from how I felt, to what I ate, to who was around me. It does bring up a lot of feelings, but I also get to seesuch strength in my family," she said.

"And I see such strength in Indigenous people. Seeing the rally footage and hearing the people speak: those are moments that I wasn't physically present for, so seeing that footage was also very uplifting."