Chiefs of Wolastoqey Nation support coroner's inquest into death of inmate from N.B. jail

First Nation chiefs support inquest into death Chiefs of the Wolastoqey Nation in New Brunswick are supporting a coroner’s inquest into the death of a First Nation’s man.

The chiefs of the Wolastoqey Nation in New Brunswick are supporting a coroner's inquest into the death of 28-year-old Skyler Brent Sappier-Soloman, a First Nation man who was an inmate at the Saint John Regional Correctional Centre in Saint John, N.B., when he died.

According to a news release from the New Brunswick government last week, Sappier-Soloman was admitted to the Saint John Regional Hospital on Jan. 29. He died two days later.

A previous release from the province stated that neither foul play nor suicide are suspected in his death, but no cause has been released.

"When one family mourns the loss of a family member, that loss ripples throughout the nation and is felt by all," said the chiefs of the Wolastoqey Nation in a news release on Monday.

The chiefs say Indigenous people have a well-founded and deep mistrust of the justice and correctional system in New Brunswick, adding that they have hard questions for the correctional facility and the Saint John Regional Hospital.

"Since 2020, First Nations leaders in New Brunswick have been calling for an inquiry into the provincial justice system, something that the provincial government has resisted," wrote the chiefs. "We have pointed to deep-seated systemic racism in government institutions including jails, schools and hospitals. This call has not been forgotten and continues to prove vital as we suffer another preventable tragedy."

Family members of Sappier-Soloman say he died from COVID-19.

The chiefs are hoping the inquest will determine if COVID-19 protocols were being followed at the jail and whether timely access to care was available.

"We expect expediency and thoroughness," say the chiefs in their statement. "It has been proven time and again that the people of our Nation do not have the benefit of passing time."