Content warning: This article addresses suicide and mental health. If you or someone you know is in immediate danger or in need of urgent support, call 911. The CMHA also provides crisis response services across the region, including a 24/7 helpline at 807-346-8282 or toll free at 1-866-888-8988.
THUNDER BAY — When he was feeling down, Kevin Mamakwa told his dad, physical exercise helped him to feel better.
Jonathon Mamakwa took the stand on Monday as the first witness at the inquest into the death of his son, Kevin.
Presiding Coroner Dr. Michael Wilson explained that the role of the five jury members is not to assign blame, but look into the circumstances of Kevin’s death. The Kingfisher Lake First Nation man was 27 years old when he died on June 2, 2020 while in custody at the Thunder Bay District Jail.
According to background information presented at the inquest, Kevin’s cellmate alerted jail staff that he was in distress and jail staff tried unsuccessfully to resuscitate him.
Jonathon testified that Kevin called him every day he was in jail. The last time he spoke with his son, he said Kevin was sounding more distressed and more desperate to be out of jail.
It was after midnight on the night Kevin died when Jonathan was notified by two detectives, in person. He said his immediate thought was that he needed to let his family know.
Jonathan said his wife, Judy, was hit particularly hard by the loss of her eldest child. She called Kevin her angel.
He talked about Kevin’s love for his four kids, his passion for hockey — his slapshot earned him the nickname Boom Boom — and how he was caring, always encouraging others.
Jonathon also told the jury about his son’s struggle with depression, addiction and the traumatic events that haunted his memories.
He described learning his son was dealing with depression and how Kevin helped him to recognize the significant role exercise plays in coping with the debilitating mental health condition.
Kevin wasn’t the kind of person to reach out for support, said Jonathon, but he had reached out to mental health counsellors, not easy in their small community. Kevin eventually did get an appointment, he said, but there was no follow-up.
Jonathan said he does not have questions about what happened, but he wants to understand “how could this happen in what is supposed to be a safe environment?”
Jonathon said that he is far from angry at this point.
“What I want,” he said, “are solutions. What are you going to do in there to make it actually safe?”
He also said he wants to know if there could be someone in the jail who could speak for First Nations people.
When asked for his ideas on preventing this sort of a tragedy in the future, Jonathon said the first one is the need to get people, especially First Nations youth, physically active, because it was exercise that made his son Kevin feel better.
The other thing he wants to see for his community members is follow-up for counselling. He said it was difficult for his son to get that counselling.
Kingfisher First Nation Chief Eddie Mamakwa was the second witness on Monday afternoon. His testimony centred on the community itself and the context Kevin grew up in, as well as the need for First Nations representation in the jail.
Because Kevin died while he was in custody an inquest is mandatory under the Coroners Act.
The inquest will continue throughout the week.
