Wanda McKenzie began her career with the RCMP in 2002. (Facebook/Saskatchewan RCMP)

By Derek Cornet

recruitment

‘If I can do this, so can you’: Officer encouraging Indigenous people to join RCMP

Dec 17, 2025 | 3:27 PM

RCMP Const. Wanda McKenzie has a policing career spanning more than two decades and she now prides herself with increasing the number of Indigenous officers in the force.

McKenzie, who is a member of the Lac La Ronge Indian Band, is part of the Saskatchewan RCMP’s Indigenous Recruiting Unit, the first of its kind in Canada. Since the unit’s creation about three years ago, there has been a spike in the number of Indigenous applicants.

“It is important to have Indigenous RCMP officers because what I am trying to do is I’m trying to be a bridge, I’m trying to be a gap, because obviously the history with Indigenous people and the RCMP is not the greatest. I get that,” she explained.

“I went to residential school myself as well. My opinion is in every sector of every job, we need to have Indigenous people there to do the work that needs to be done.”

McKenzie grew up in the small northern community of Brabant Lake (170 kilometers north of La Ronge), which as of 2021 had only 27 residents. As a child, her interaction with RCMP had always been positive, and from a young age, she either wanted to be a conservation or police officer.

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That dream finally came true in 2002 when she became an RCMP officer as a single mother at the age of 26. She started her career in Big River First Nation, then went on to serve in Indigenous communities such as Witchican Lake, Pelican Lake, Makwa Sahgaiehcan, Sturgeon Lake, and Muskoday before entering recruitment.

One aspect that has benefitted McKenzie’s work in policing substantially is her ability to speak Cree. That is a very rare asset for the Saskatchewan RCMP.

“Language is so powerful. You can be in an absolutely silly or horrible situation and you speak even a few words to people that understand it, and it’s almost like a common ground there and they tend to trust you more and you build that trust,” she remarked.

“That’s so important. Language is powerful and the fact you’re able to translate or speak to an Elder on a call and get them as comfortable as possible, they do get comfortable. There’s a feeling of home when you are speaking to somebody who doesn’t maybe speak very well English or any other language for that matter.”

McKenzie is also able to connect with the Indigenous people she serves because she grew up in a traditional lifestyle. She knows how to hunt, fish, trap, and make medicines from the boreal forest. McKenzie still spends time on her trapline whenever she can.

“I take all of that and I bring it to the job,” she said.

McKenzie’s goal is to encourage and support as many Indigenous people as she can to join the RCMP. She mentors applicants through the process, which can be very long and tedious. McKenzie wants those who are interested to know she can be reached at 1-639-533-0624.

“Knowledge is confidence and the more confident you are, the more you will be set to figure out which career you want to get into,” she noted.

“I grew up in a small, tiny town in Northern Saskatchewan. There is no such thing that it is impossible for anybody to try this. If I can do this, so can you.”

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derek.cornet@pattisonmedia.com