Mother of Saskatoon homicide victim says former soccer star came from long line of strong leaders
Priscilla Tootoosis-Iron condemns violence among Indigenous youth
Warning: This story contains distressing details.
Priscilla Tootoosis-Iron says she will not stay silent about what happened to her son.
She says the stakes are too high and shying away from hard conversations is not her family's style.
Tootoosis-Iron is a high school sciences teacher on the Poundmaker Cree Nation west of North Battleford, Sask. The 56-year-old mother and grandmother confirmed that her 30-year-old son Tim Tootoosis was the final homicide victim in Saskatoon for 2024.
Police haven't released Tim's name and are saying little publicly about the case, beyond an initial news release.
"At around 7:30 p.m. on December 18, 2024, members of the Saskatoon Police Service Guns and Gangs Unit, with the assistance of the Tactical Support Unit, were executing a search warrant at a residence in the 1700 block of 22nd Street West," the news release said.
"Upon entering the residence, officers located a deceased male. Three men and one woman were taken into police custody for further questioning but were later released without charges."
No one has been charged in Tim's death.
In an interview this week, Tootoosis-Iron said she is in constant contact with major crimes officers and is haunted and disturbed by what happened to "Baby Tim."
"My child was brutally murdered in this city and we know by who, by which group of people," she said.
"What really just blows my mind is that, you know, I get it — life happens, stuff happens to people. But when does that give anybody the right to rationalize in their brain somehow that it's OK to go and kill your own people?"
Legacy of activism
Tim Tootoosis comes from a family with a long and storied history of activism in the province.
His uncle, Jake Tootoosis, was a respected lawyer in Saskatoon. His extended family includes late actor Gordon Tootoosis, Saskatoon activist-historian Tyrone Tootoosis and John B. Tootoosis, the first president of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN).
Tim's grandfather, James Tootoosis Jr., was a cultural leader who travelled organizing sacred sundance ceremonies.
"He came from a good family, he grew up with professional parents," Priscilla said.
"He went to Europe to play soccer when he was in high school … he went to California to play soccer, too."
Priscilla said her son went to university, worked at a local shelter and stayed in touch with his friends and family.
Standing 6'5", he was a vocal and visible presence at round dances, powwows and sundances.
Death of a mentor
Priscilla said that the death of her father James Tootoosis Jr. in 2018 knocked her son sideways. Tim lived in Saskatoon at the time.
"Before my dad passing, [Tim] was into sports. He played soccer in Indian country, as we call it, and Timmy was a big part of that world since he was 14 or 15," she said.
She said her son began drinking to medicate the pain of his grandfather's death.
"He was starting to drink paydays and things like that. And then it was maybe the last three, four years, his drinking was a thing. It was him staying with friends, and the friends he stayed with drank," she said.
"I had hoped it was just a rough patch."
'He was not garbage'
Priscilla said her son was at a friend's house shortly before he died.
"I know where he was, the police know where he was. We know that he was presented with an option — hey, there's a lot of booze over here, and that's where he went," she said.
"And that's where his life ended."
Priscilla said she'll take the pain of knowing what happened to her son over having him simply disappear.
She said police had gone to the house to execute a warrant on an unrelated matter. She said her son was dead in the house when they arrived.
"Tim is a big guy, they couldn't just carry him out," she said. "He was dismembered. My child was in pieces.
"Thank god that [police] did go for that unrelated reason, because otherwise my son would have been missing. I wouldn't have that closure. So I can be grateful that we were able to bury him in a way that he deserved to be and not dumped somewhere like garbage. Because he was not garbage."
Priscilla said she takes solace knowing her son's suffering is over and her family was able to bring his remains home.
"He went straight to where he was supposed to go because his life was taken in such a brutal way," she said.
'A hard pill to swallow'
Based on her discussions with police, Priscilla believes her son's killers are Indigenous.
"Indigenous people killing Indigenous people. How does that work?" she asked.
"That's a hard pill to swallow."
She said it's a question that should be asked on every First Nation in the province.
"That our own people are acting tough, acting solid, having beefs. It's our own people. Turn on the TV, watch some news. Our world is in a disarray," she said.
"And here we have our own youth hurting our own youth."
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