So since some systems have been coming out as pro-cop, we want to share with the plural community the story of how we ended up institutionalized for 6 months due to the police, our only contact with the outside world being our abusive (now ex) husband.

We were (physically) 18, almost 19. Still didn't have communication with each other.

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Another day of abuse from our at the time husband (we will call him JP) but this time it had escalated to SA as well. Next thing we know, we are

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Next thing we know, we are barefoot on the side of the highway, dehydrated, sun burnt, all around not okay.

We reached a sign, it said we were 20km from a city that is 300km away from home.

To this day none of us can remember that

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Time between the abuse and getting their.

Well, we decided to get to the city to get water. About 10 minutes later cops pulled up. (as you may know from previous tweets, we have severe police related trauma). We freeze, they come out and

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Our mind blocked out what ever happened until we were sitting in the back of the police car hearing them call Ponoka Mental Institution. Anyone who is local and old enough to remember Ponoka will understand why we went into panic.

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Times were different and thankfully some laws have changed now to an extent, but back then? We were genuinely concerned that this was going to lead to a lifetime inside that place.

So we got committed. We realized the cops had gotten our

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Phone and wallet during the time we blanked out. We figured we must have went into obedience auto pilot for our safety in a moment of distress.

We won't go into details of the stay (traumatic as hell) but we will say that we did

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Experience abuse, refusal to contact our dad (only allowed to contact our husband for "our own safety"), and had records lied on (we had to fight for false records to be corrected later when out) to say we were non-complying because we

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Didn't want to talk to any cops who stopped by, and tried to fight back when abused.

About 4 months in we were broken. The next 2 months was allowing whatever happens to happen and being the "good patient" to get out.

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Ponoka has a long history of anti-Indigenous practice. The most recorded being that they use to be involved with forced sterilization. While many of the abuses in the more modern days (80/90/early 2000s) have not gotten media attention

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It is a reality that us, and many others we know who had to stay there, experienced and (for some of us) survived.

When mental health works with and supports the cops? This is what happens.

It took 6 months to get free, but we still

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Can't drive through Ponoka without suffering from a PTSD episode.

Even just googling, "abuse in mental institutions" brings up so many results, old and new, and should be a moment of awakening in what people like us survived.

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So yes, we will continue to say ACAB. Our initial traumas and these traumas are why we fight. The other patients when we were their were disproportionately Black and Indigenous peoples. It was, and is, systematic.

For our other thread about the early trauma, here it is.

If you can't see why we are so vocal? You aren't listening to Black and Indigenous peoples enough.

And we're a white Native, we have white privilege. What we experienced? Only a fraction to BIPOC. https://twitter.com/LoveIrisSystem/status/1265921346128588801?s=19