The man who revealed the infamous “Starlight Tours” by Saskatoon Police more than 20 years ago, has died.
In January of 2000, Darrell Night was picked up by Saskatoon Police, and was driven outside the city.
He was left in minus 20-degree temperatures wearing nothing but a T-shirt and a jean jacket.
He survived after a power plant worker heard him knocking on the door.
While he was able to survive, many others did not, including, two other Indigenous men, Rodney Naistus and Lawrence Wegne. Both were found frozen to death in the same area, around the same time as Night.
When Night went public about what happened, it sparked outrage from the community resulting in two officers being fired, criminal charges and protests against the so-called “Starlight Tours.”
Night’s story also prompted an investigation into the 1990 death of Neil Stonechild, which found that the aboriginal teen had been in police custody right before he ended up frozen to death on the city’s outskirts with handcuff marks on his nose and wrists.
Night died earlier this month at age 56. A wake and funeral were held at the Saulteaux First Nation located approximately 150 kilometres northwest of Saskatoon.
The cause of death is not known.
An online obituary can be found here.