Martensville Messenger October 13, 2016 | Page 2

Page 2 - OCtOBer 13 , 2016 - martensville messenger

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Shanine Sealey , Martensville Messenger

Author Ernie Louttit stopped by the Martensville Library Thursday , October 6th where he read an excerpt from one of his books , and told stories about his experiences as a Saskatoon police officer . Over 30 people attended the presentation , and those attending were pleased to discover that Ernie is currently working on his third book , with plans to release it early next year . “ A big thanks to Ernie Louttit for coming to our library . His books , " Indian Ernie : Perspectives on Policing and Leadership " and " More Indian Ernie : Insights from the Streets ", are available at the library for those that would like to read them . We can ' t wait for his third book to become available ,” Librarian Marla Skomar , commented .

Skomar was familiar with Louttit ’ s books , and knew that the books were popular among the Martensville Library patrons , so she took the next step and invited Louttit to come and speak about his books . “ For me , the one thing that sticks in my mind is his message that we need to take time to hear people ’ s stories before making judgements on who they are . Everyone has a story and we need to care enough to take the time to find out what it is . Doing this will make us all more tolerant and compassionate towards each other ,” Skomar added .

Ernie Louttit , also known as “ Indian Ernie ”, is originally from Northern Ontario and became a Saskatchewan resident in 1987 when he joined Saskatoon Police Services ( SPS ). Before that Louttit had served nearly eight years in the Canadian Armed Forces . Louttit was with SPS for approximately 27 years before retiring in 2013 . While with SPS , “ Indian Ernie ” would share stories based on his experiences with the other police officers , and was often told that he should write a book . “ I thought about it and when I decided a book would be a good way to go out of policing , I did it ,” Louttit explained . The name “ Indian Ernie ” began with the children in the area Louttit worked while with SPS . “ When I did not have a call , I would get out of my patrol car and walk around . In areas where police officers were not a common sight , it caused people to be curious . Children being very forward would follow me and ask my name , then ask if I was Indian . The name came from them and almost everyone was calling me ‘ Indian Ernie ’ by the time I retired .” When Louttit first joined the SPS , he was the city ’ s third native police officer .

Ernie has made numerous stops throughout various libraries in the province to share his stories including ; Watrous , Humboldt , Melfort , Kindersley , Elrose , Dalmeny and Aberdeen . “ I absolutely love meeting readers in rural Saskatchewan . I support libraries , and I believe that with all the other forms of media available , libraries and reading are more important than ever . Seeing a person with a book in their hands , any book , makes me happy . Readers are leaders ,” Louttit said .

The Martensville Library has other exciting events coming up such as the Community Puzzle , where they will have a puzzle set out on one of their tables that everyone is invited to come and help put together when they are visiting the library . The puzzle will stay out until it is complete . They also have Saskatchewan Library Week from October 16- 22 . The theme is Explore & Discover Saskatchewan Libraries and they are planning to have a drop in Pokémon I-Spy game available for children to play during the week . For more details on these events , contact the Martensville Library at ( 306 ) 956-7311 .

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ABOVE : Louttit ’ s books ‘ Indian Ernie : Perspectives on Policing and Leadership ’ and ‘ More Indian Ernie : Insights From the Streets ’ were on display at the Martensville Library on Thursday , October 6th . ( Photos : Jocelyn Ottenbreit / Martensville Messenger ) BELOW : An excited fan gets Author Ernie Louttit to sign her book .

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