06/29/2026
In this talk from the Mental Health on the Prairies conference at Brandon University (April 30, 2026), Dr. Caroline Tait, Associate Professor at the University of Calgary and Metis scholar, presents a deeply affecting account of the life and death of Curtis McKenzie, a First Nations man who died by su***de in federal custody at the age of 27 in 2020.
Drawing on her attendance at the Saskatchewan coroner's public inquest into Curtis's death, her years of volunteer involvement with Straight Up, a frontline gang exit organization in Prince Albert, and her ongoing work with Curtis's family, Dr. Tait traces a life shaped by the foster care system, institutionalization, complex mental illness, and the near-total absence of culturally grounded support. Curtis spent his early life in at least ten foster homes, entered the criminal justice system as a youth, and cycled in and out of federal incarceration for much of his adult life, all while struggling with severe mental health challenges that the system consistently failed to adequately address.
Dr. Tait uses Curtis's story to interrogate a pointed question: have the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Calls to Action meaningfully reached the people who need them most? She examines the over-representation of Indigenous people in Canadian jails and prisons, the criminalization of social suffering, the political economy that sustains incarceration, and the devastating consequences of placing untrained staff in charge of complex mental health decisions. She also honours Curtis as a person, sharing his original rap lyrics and poetry, which speak with remarkable clarity to pain, hope, and the search for belonging.
This video was made possible through the Research Support Fund.
In this talk from the Mental Health on the Prairies conference at B...