‘Hard to fathom’: Thieves keep stealing copper off Thunderbird House roof

WINNIPEG (CityNews) ─ Leaders at an Indigenous cultural hub in downtown Winnipeg say they were forced to erect a fence around the building due to theft.

The leaders of Thunderbird House say they had no choice but to raise the fence because people kept stealing copper off the sacred building’s roof over the last several weeks.

“It started very slowly, we just noticed a piece or two torn off, right? And then it just got gradually worse,” said Thunderbird House co-chair Damon Johnston.

“It’s really disrespectful of a place that is really representative of the heart of Indigenous spirituality, so it’s hard to fathom sometimes and accept it.”

Johnston says numerous pieces of copper have been removed from the structure’s roof since August, causing visible damage. Police have been notified about the thefts and are working closely with Thunderbird House to get the situation under control.

(Credit: CITYNEWS/Mark Neufeld)

Johnston believes the thefts are a sign of socio-economic issues facing the city.

“People are hurting,” he said. “You get mental health and addictions and sometimes they’re combined, co-existing conditions, and so people lose their way.”

He’s asking for the people responsible to take a step back and think about what they’re doing, as he doesn’t think it’s regular community members who are committing the act.

“They were organized, they knew what they were doing,” said Johnston. “And it’s a shame because it’s a very special place to most of us.”

(Credit: CITYNEWS/Mark Neufeld)

Finningan Clein, who scraps and sells copper in the city, says the theft is something the community frowns upon.

“That’s a sacred temple for Native culture and they shouldn’t have done that,” said Clein. “That’s wrong.”

While Johnston says the theft has hurt the centre due to the high costs of fixing the roof, he says he doesn’t have any ill will towards those responsible.

“It’s a physical structure, it can be repaired,” he said. “Human beings are more important. That’s the bigger part of our journey. We’ll be focusing on the parts of the community who are hurting and helping those who are willing and wanting to change their lives.”

Officials are asking anyone with information about who may be buying the copper to come forward.