First Nations female takes on top job

 Chief Supt. Brenda Butterworth-Carr is the new officer in charge of criminal operations for RCMP F Division in Saskatchewan. Photograph by: Don Healy, Leader-Post ,

By Barb Pacholik, Leader-Post:  It's an office where the ceremonial sword of a top-level Mountie finds a home with a braid of sweet-grass. "I'm immersed in both cultures," said Chief Supt. Brenda Butterworth-Carr, the new officer in charge of criminal operations for the RCMP in Saskatchewan. Butterworth-Carr, who hails from Dawson City, Yukon, is a member of the Tr'ondek Hwech'in Han Nation. Her biography reflects a number of firsts: The first aboriginal female superintendent in the Pacific region (2009); the first female officer in charge of the Prince George, B.C., detachment; the first female incident commander in the Pacific region; the first female to head national aboriginal policing and crime prevention services in Ottawa; and the first aboriginal female promoted to the rank of chief superintendent (in 2010). She's only 45 years old...Continue reading...