James Smith Cree Nation councillor angry that killer using alias worked on First Nation after 2022 massacre

A band councillor on James Smith Cree Nation (JSCN) is angry that a convicted killer using an alias worked in the cultural centre on the First Nation following the Sept. 4, 2022, stabbing massacre.

"I couldn't believe this individual was in our community," said Deborah McLean in an interview.

"I almost puked, that's how awful I felt."

Myles Sanderson murdered 11 people and wounded 17 others in the rampage. Earl Burns Sr., one of the victims, was McLean's brother. A coroner's inquest in Melfort examining the events leading to the massacre offered 29 recommendations after almost three weeks of exhibits and testimony.

McLean is angry that Kelley Thackeray worked on JSCN prior to the inquest — under the name Kelley Bird-Naytowhow — without telling anyone that he'd previously been convicted of second-degree murder for stabbing a man.

Kelley Thackeray Bird-Naytowhow declined repeated requests for an interview. It's not clear exactly when, or why, he transitioned from presenting himself as Kelley Thackeray to Kelley Bird-Naytowhow.

JSCN Chief Wally Burns declined interview requests but, in a statement emailed to CBC, a spokesperson confirmed the leadership "learned that Kelley Bird-Naytowhow was Kelley Thackeray when Band Councillor Deborah McLean brought that information forward in the fall of 2023."

A photo of Kelley Bird-Naytowhow that is posted on his Facebook page. (Kelley Bird-Naytowhow/Facebook)

Newspaper article described case

McLean learned of Thackeray's background in October 2023 when another therapist sent her a 2016 Toronto Sun article.

"I was really shocked," she said. "I went to the band office, and they were shocked."

The 2016 newspaper story featured an interview with Patricia Newman, the younger sister of Barrie, Ont., taxi driver Gary Newman, who had been stabbed 29 times in a robbery gone bad in 2001.

Kelley Thackeray pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in Newman's death in 2004 and was released on full parole in 2014. In the newspaper story, Patricia Newman spoke about getting updates on Thackeray from the parole board.

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"They tell me he travels to Saskatchewan a lot," Newman said. "For a convicted murderer, sounds like he's having a pretty good life."

The Parole Board of Canada decision to release Thackeray characterized him as a low risk to reoffend and applauded his efforts to move forward. CBC obtained the parole documents.

"He [the parole officer] indicated you've resumed your university studies, completed a sun dance with positive results, and volunteer," his parole board pre-release decision sheet said.

"He described you as a non-criminalized individual who made a drastic error, but who has maximized the opportunities to improve yourself while incarcerated."

Three teepees are set up behind the James Smith Cree Nation's school on Thursday Sept. 8, 2022. They were put up following the stabbing attack for people to have a ceremony, find healing and honour those that lost their lives. (Kelly Geraldine Malone/The Canadian Press)

Standing at inquest not granted

McLean said it was unclear right up until days before the inquest, which began Jan. 15, whether Thackeray would have standing, a designation that would allow him to question witnesses.

Her niece, Deborah Burns, echoed her concerns about Thackeray working on the First Nation. She is upset about his background and how she learned about it.

"Both parts actually are what's disturbing." she said.

"I was shocked that I heard he had standing for a family."

A spokesperson for the province's Integrated Justice Services said that coroner Blaine Beaven ultimately decided "Mr. Naytowhow would not be an appropriate representative."

"The inquest coroner communicated this to the party with standing on Friday, January 12," Noel Busse wrote in an email.

Busse said that "Kelley Thackeray Bird Naytowhow" was the name of the individual presented to the coroner.

A spokesperson for the province's Integrated Justice Services said the coroner ultimately decided "Mr. Naytowhow would not be an appropriate representative" at the inquest in Melfort examining the events leading to the massacre. (Liam Richards/The Canadian Press)

CSC has name change rules

The Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) would not discuss the specifics of his case but, because a second-degree murder conviction is a life sentence, offenders must remain in contact with CSC even after their release.

There are clear rules about what happens when an offender changes their name, including supplying CSC with a court document verifying a legal name change.

"If a name change occurs, the assigned sentence management officer will confirm that the former name is noted as an alias," a CSC official wrote in an email.

"All record holders/file registries, including the Parole Board of Canada and the regional Victim Services Unit, are notified of the name change."

Kelley Thackeray Bird-Naytowhow's history can be partially pieced together from Parole Board documents and his presence on social media. He is on Facebook, Instagram, X and LinkedIn as Kelley Bird-Naytowhow.

He is known as Kelley Thackeray to the parole board, and that is the name shown on a Nov. 23, 2023, list of approved mental health providers for Saskatchewan.

Thackeray's professional designation on the list is "social worker." On his LinkedIn profile, he indicates he is an Indigenous Community-Based Researcher at the University of Manitoba, a full-time position he has held since July 2017.

However, the University of Manitoba has no record of him.

"We are unable to identify an individual with any combination of that name that they convocated from the University of Manitoba," a spokesperson wrote in an email.

"We also do not have them as an employee of the University."

Two people look on after the grand opening of Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations Traditional Health Gathering that was held at James Smith Cree Nation in August 2023. (Heywood Yu/The Canadian Press)

Many counsellors, therapists came to First Nation

McLean said therapists and counsellors began arriving at JSCN within days of the massacre. She said some just arrived, uninvited but wanting to help, while others were drawn from a master list compiled by Indigenous Services Canada (ISC).

The JSCN health department made a request to ISC for several travelling counselling providers on Sept. 9, 2022. According to ISC, it has made $9.3 million available to JSCN to help with everything from funerals and housing to social and health supports.

McLean said that Bird-Naytowhow worked out of the Sakwatamo Lodge on JSCN. The former treatment centre had been converted to a cultural centre. She did not know the specific nature of his duties.

As a two-term band councillor, McLean said she felt she failed her community by not personally vetting the people descending on her home. But she was grieving the loss of her brother, Earl Burns Sr., and her slain friends.

"I felt like I didn't do my due diligence," she said.

"I didn't check out who's-who because they pounced on us when the incident happened. I was grateful for that but, as for checking them out, that's where I failed. I failed to find out who are these people coming into our community."

Billing privileges terminated

Kelley Thackeray Bird-Naytowhow's work on JSCN ended shortly after October 2023 when McLean went to the band leadership.

An official with ISC confirmed that a registered social worker lost their ability to bill once the band came forward with its concerns.

"Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) has been made aware of concerns related to a registered social worker in Saskatchewan who was also enrolled with Indigenous Services Canada's Non-Insured Health Benefits (NIHB) Program and was delivering services in James Smith Cree Nation," said spokesperson Jennifer Cooper.

"Due to privacy implications, we cannot speak to the specifics of these concerns. However, in situations where complaints or concerns are received, the NIHB program will follow up immediately, prioritizing client safety (including emotional and psychological safety) and taking steps to address these.

"As soon as the program became aware of the concerns, the program immediately suspended approvals to provide service in community, and the provider has since had their NIHB billing privileges terminated by the program."

The Saskatchewan Association of Social Workers (SASW) has a registry of social workers in the province, and Kelley Thackeray is on that list.

Registrar Fay Schuster wrote that, according to the Social Workers Act, a registered member "holds a certificate or a bachelor's, master's or doctoral degree in social work from a university that is approved in the bylaws."

She said all applicants must provide transcripts verifying their academic credentials before they are approved.

"We do not provide credential information regarding our members," she wrote.

Deborah McLean said she had no issue with a person turning around their life after serving their time for a murder.

"The fact that he didn't reveal that, that's what concerns me," she said.

"It was up to Kelley from the beginning to come forward with that disclosure. It was not up to us. It was up to him."