Ernie Louttit was born in 1961 in a remote northern Ontario community. A member of the Missanabie Cree Band raised off reserve, he attended a one-room school until grade 8 then boarded out in another town for high school. He quit school in grade 11 to work for the Canadian National Railway. At 17, he joined the Canadian Forces, serving with the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry and military police.

In 1987, he was hired by the Saskatoon Police as only the third native officer in the force’s history. He has spent his entire 26 year career on the streets of Saskatoon’s west side, an area until recently beset by poverty and terrible social conditions. Louttit served during the most tumultuous years of the Saskatoon Police Service, always in the front lines as he learned to navigate the difficult issues of crime, race, and community expectations – both white and native. He became known on the streets as “Indian Ernie,” to him a badge of honour. He officially retired as a Sergeant as of October 29, 2013. He continues to reside in Saskatoon and is married with four grown children. This is Ernie’s first book.