Brodie Thomas
Northern News Services
Published Monday, July 07, 2008

TSIIGEHTCHIC/ARCTIC RED RIVER - A 28-year-old Tsiigehtchic man was charged with second degree murder in the stabbing death of his 25-year-old cousin over the Canada Day long weekend.

A Tsiigehtchic bylaw officer found the body of Roy Patrick Blake lying on the road in the early morning hours of Sunday, June 29. The bylaw officer told police it looked as if the victim had been stabbed. Inuvik RCMP responded to the call.

There is no RCMP detachment in Tsiigehtchic. The nearest detachment is in Fort McPherson, about 57 km south.

It was not clear why Inuvik RCMP responded to the call when Inuvik is twice as far from Tsiigehtchic than Fort McPherson.

Michael Douglas Andre-Blake of Tsiigehtchic was taken into custody by Inuvik RCMP on Sunday, June 29. He was transported to Yellowknife and appeared in court on July 2. Andre-Blake will enter his plea on July 22.

Residents of Tsiigehtchic were unable to leave the community for some time on Sunday as RCMP searched for the suspect.

Roy Patrick Blake was a resident of nearby Fort McPherson, about 60 km south of Tsiigehtchic. His mother, Ruby Heron-Blake declined to comment but in a written statement posted to an online forum she said she is willing to forgive the accused.

"I am willing to forgive him for what he has done there is no reason to try to carry on through life mad as it will not get you anywhere. I would also really like to thank everyone in Tsiigehtchic for being there for my son," wrote Heron-Blake.

Other community organizations have remained tight-lipped about the death.

Chief Fredrick Blake Jr. of the Gwichya Gwich'in band council declined to comment on the event or how his community was coping with the death.

At least one Tsiigehtchic resident is speaking out about the problem with drugs and alcohol in her community. In an open letter to the RCMP and the Gwichya Gwich'in band council, Charlene Blake called for a full-time nurse and a permanent RCMP detachment in Tsiigehtchic.

"We deserve the same services as any of the other communities in the Beaufort Delta region," she said.

Blake said the community is forced to wait for hours for a response from RCMP or health care providers. She pointed to drugs and alcohol as the main cause of problems in the community.

Tsiigehtchic is technically a dry community but there is no real way of enforcing the prohibition. Alcohol is readily available in Inuvik and easily transported to the community on the Dempster Highway.