” But to let him die. In front of a restaurant in Dawson Creek? I’m not going to do that. I’m not going to let his memory lie there. I’m going to pick it up like a dropped feather. I’m going to sing songs, and I’m going to pray and I’m going to smudge everyone that’s there. That’s my job. To remember my cousin in a good way. Not as a mask, but as a loved human being. I loved him, he loved me. He loved his environment, and I’m going to protect it with him.”
~Keith D LaRiviere
As a writer I’ve spoken with thousands of people over the years of this blog and I remember each of them well, but there are stories that leave a mark so indelible it can’t be erased.
It was in the evening of July 2015 when I heard from a longtime friend who used to live in Prince George but had moved to the Peace River region. I hadn’t heard from him in years but he told me a man had been shot at the Site C meeting and that he knew I had been following the project and there was video of it.
He didn’t get into any details but soon enough I saw the video. And it was pretty traumatizing to see someones life blood leave them so quickly,even a total stranger – I wasn’t prepared for that. I cover politics,not crime scenes.The media soon had a copy and most blocked out the terrible detail and rightly so. That night I lay awake a long time,trying to forget what I had seen and of course you can’t, but in this business you learn how to ‘put it in a box on the shelf’ for unpacking later on, so to speak.
Details were scarce to come on the man who had died that day, and it wasn’t until months later that a story came out alleging that police had ‘shot the wrong man’. Other than a comment here or there, nothing much has been heard since while the IIO investigation continues.There was a lot of focus on his mask and any links to Anonymous, but I had always been more curious about the actual person behind the mask who died.
Nothing until today, when in response to a tweeted link to the compelling and hauntingly beautiful DeSmog video posted yesterday, an account by the name of BuffaloHairJr responded with a simple smile. I looked at the account, and it belongs to a first cousin of the man who was shot, who posted a video interview he had just done.
I watched it-it’s poignant.So this isn’t so much about the event as it is simply about the thoughts of someone who loved him and who wants people to know his cousin was much more than the mask that everyone saw. He asked if I would share this and I said I would. Walk in peace. May your feather float far…
Westcoast Views with Laila Yuile 
I have been following this event too. Surely the simple question of whether or not he was wielding a knife could have been answered by now. The silence has been deafening and may be an indication that he wasn’t. That would indicate that there was mistaken identity and misaken use of police weapons.
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I did read that he was carrying a knife, here. But to be honest,many people do carry small utility knives in rural,interior areas, but it’s what you do with it that matters. No indication I’ve seen on what kind of knife he had. http://www.timescolonist.com/news/b-c/site-c-protester-shooting-victim-were-not-the-same-man-1.2005590 But nothing has been said by the IIO.
I’ve always been curious about this, particularly since reading Terry Hadlands statements in that story I linked to. But his cousin just wants people to know he was more than that mask.
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We should not let his memory lie there, either. His cousin has picked up the feather, and we should follow him to where the B.C. Hydro contractors are demolishing the Peace Valley environment, and we should do what Rafe has suggested all along. Civil disobedience is the only thing that will stop this madness.
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My condolences but as you no we are born to pass on
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TONS of people carry swiss army knives in rural communities. You know, the ones you can use to open a beer, cut a fly, use as a screwdriver. Only a city person would try to make it a weapon. My Dad carried one for 50 years in his pocket….
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This is such a sad, frustrating, even bizarre story. So, who was the person flipping tables and what happened to him? Why did the police just leave their shooting victim to die on the sidewalk: no first aid, no response? There is so much to this story: the backdrop of an ‘us vs them’ developing over the dam and resource-use in the north, the symbol of the anonymous mask, the fact that the dead man had only recently joined ‘anonymous’ online, the seemingly sweet nature of this man who rarely spoke up at all and then when he tried he gets shot! What a strange, sad story.
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Steve, please read the link inside the post where I refer to the story of allegations police shot the wrong man… the man who was inside was Terry Hadland, who believes ( his opinion only) that McIntyre tried to create a diversion for him to get away – these are his views only, but from the outside it looks like police received a report of a man causing a disturbance etc inside,showed up and then this happened. You may still find video out there of the incident as well.
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On July 16, 2015, Jimmy McIntyre, Metis/Cree man and lone protester in
at a Site C Dam Information session in Dawson Creek was shot by RCMP
and left to bleed to death. The RCMP have stated that he had a
knife and was wearing a Guy Fawkes mask. His cousin believes that he
was shot “without” due diligence.
To this date, Jimmy McIntyre’s death has received little to no media
coverage.On July 16th 2016, Pray and Smudge at home the one year
anniversary of James McIntyre’s death Rest
in Peace James you gave your sacred life for the protection of the land
and water.The spot where gave his life has never been prayed on. But to
let him die. In front of a restaurant in Dawson Creek? I’m not going to
do that. I’m not going to let his memory lie there. I’m going to pick
it up like a dropped feather. I’m going to sing songs, and I’m going to
pray and I’m going to smudge that ground and everyone that’s there.
That’s my obligation my duty to his undying spirit. To remember my
cousin in a good way. Not as a mask, but as a loved human being with
friend’s and family. I loved him, he loved us ,I may have been the last
person to hold his cold hand in this world,I made Jim a promise.He loved
the environment’s we were brought up in the land the country the myth
of our ancestor’s and our obligation to them,and we are related to
everything in the world and to protect our relation’s.I’m going to try
and keep the promise I made.Help protect mother earth
from environmental damage.
All those who stand up for the protection of Mother Earth,
and those who oppose the construction of the Site C Dam are
invited to show your support at “Jimmy’s Page” on facebook.
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