'Brave and before his time': Darrel Bruno remembered for Indigenous rights advocacy

Darrel Bruno died at the age of 64 on Nov. 19, 2024, at the University of Alberta Hospital in Edmonton, Alta. (Photo submitted.)

A trailblazer in the advancement of Indigenous rights within the RCMP died Nov. 19 at the University of Alberta Hospital in Edmonton. Darrel Bruno, a member of Samson Cree Nation, was 64.

Services for Bruno took place Thursday in the central Alberta town of his birth, Ponoka.

As an RCMP member in the early 2000s, Bruno won legal actions in the federal court against his employer over discrimination and misrepresentations of Indigenous identity — the so-called pretendian phenomenon. In a LinkedIn post, his son Grant said Bruno was being passed up for promotions by RCMP members who inauthentically self-identified as Indigenous.

After representing himself and winning, Bruno was awarded four promotions at once. He was also one of the few Indigenous RCMP officers of the day with an on-duty braid. “When the RCMP told him to cut it, he fought against that and won again,” Grant’s LinkedIn post says.

Bruno spent 10 years at the Stony Plain detachment just west of Edmonton and another 16 in Hobbema — or Maskwacis, as it’s now called — where he retired as staff sergeant in 2009. He soon started working for the RCMP again, this time as a civilian, cementing his reputation as a ground-breaker in policing and crime prevention in Indigenous communities.

In a tribute before her Alberta legislative assembly colleagues, Jodi Calahoo Stonehouse called her family friend “brave and before his time.”

Bruno’s commitment to community-based policing transformed the way the RCMP approach public safety, said Calahoo Stonehouse, the NDP member for Edmonton-Rutherford. “He worked tirelessly to empower communities. He would give lectures and many speeches declaring: we must take back our communities. His model was rooted in crime prevention and now has been shared around the world.”

Calling Bruno “a fierce and relentless advocate for the protection of women,” Calahoo Stonehouse said he supported and advocated for the creation of Indigenous-led women’s shelters. He also helped found cadet programs on nations across the province to serve thousands of Indigenous youths.

“His initiatives focused on addressing root causes of crime, such as gang violence and youth marginalization, in Indigenous communities,” she said. “Bruno's work emphasized proactive engagement and community-driven strategies, which included mentoring youth and collaborating with local leaders to promote safety and wellness​.”

On LinkedIn, son Grant wrote: “Nohtawîy [Cree for my father] was a man of faith; he was reliable, and he took his role as a family man very seriously.”

The post continues: “Throughout my entire life, I have only seen my dad get angry a handful of times. He was the definition of keeping calm under pressure. He was a musician, hunter, avid Oilers fan, and he loved to barbecue. He was a calm presence for many and cared deeply about his family. His work ethic was second to none. I will do my best to exemplify these traits in my own life today.”

With his father’s Stetson hat, Grant accepted his PhD in medical sciences, pediatrics, yesterday from the University of Alberta during fall convocation. Grant also received the fall 2024 Governor General’s Gold Medal, which he dedicated to his father.

Darrel Regan Bruno was born June 26, 1960, in Ponoka to Maria Lightning and Samuel “Dicky” Bruno. Among survivors are his children Christina, Grant, Daniel, Suzannah, Tristen, Ainsley and Cadence; life partners Deborah, Peggy and Georgina; many grandchildren; and many other relatives and friends.

Funeral services begin today at 1 p.m. at the Ponoka Funeral Home. The funeral will be livestreamed through the Wombold Family Funeral Homes website, womboldfuneralhomes.com. Interment follows at Forest Home Cemetery in Ponoka.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Maskwacis Mobile Health. Another option is to “simply take a moment to honour Darrel’s memory by spending time with loved ones and connecting with the land he so deeply cherished,” says the published funeral home obituary.