SASKATOON – Opposing COVID mandates resulted in Stella Chipesia being forced out of a Saskatoon college she was attending, losing custody of her children, and fined $5,600 for attending two protests in Saskatoon.
This adversity, however, hasn’t kept Chipesia down as she continues to fight the public health tickets in provincial court, regain custody of her children, and rebuild her life.
“Forced policies in public schools is the same as assimilation used in Residential Schools,” read a large banner sprawled across Chipesia’s white F-150 Ford truck that she parked across the street of her children’s elementary school in September 2020.
“My mother was forced to go to residential school,” said Chipesia. “So, when the schools reopened [after closing during COVID-19], I didn’t want my children to go through what my mother went through, that’s what I felt.”
Chipesia equated mandatory vaccination and face masks to forcing Indigenous children to attend residential schools.
“They [government] take on a belief and force it on every group. I strongly believe all lives matter and we should have the right to our beliefs.”
From full-time mom to complete loss of children
Chipesia, a treaty member of Prophet River First Nation in Northern British Columbia, was a full-time stay-at-home mom until she and her Caucasian husband split up in 2018.
Afterwards, the two shared 50-50 custody of their children. All of that changed in February 2021 when a Saskatoon Court of Queen’s Bench judge gave her ex-husband full custody of their children because she continued homeschooling them when the schools re-opened after closing during COVID, she said.
Chipesia wasn’t allowed to see her children in person for an entire year because she was opposed to forced COVID-19 vaccination and face masks, she told SASKTODAY.ca.
“All my parental rights were stripped from me and all access.”
Chipesia said she wasn’t even allowed supervised visits with her children.
“All because I disagreed with the COVID mandates.”
Court documents obtained by SASKTODAY.ca reveal that Chipesia wanted “to home-school the children as she is opposed to the COVID-19 practices within the schools and believes strongly that their children should be taught in accordance with her Christian beliefs and Indigenous teachings.”
Chipesia said because she was a stay-at-home mom she was the one who spent the most time with their children.
“I basically passed down everything that was me to them and that includes my beliefs. They all love Jesus and they are not allowed a Bible in his house,” she said adding that if her children take a Bible into her ex-husband’s house, he throws them out.
Chipesia said she doesn’t belong to any specific denomination and just has Bible studies at home after becoming a Christian in 2015. She said that is when her marriage started to disintegrate.
Chipesia’s life crumbles after COVID
When COVID-19 hit in early 2020, Chipesia was living on campus at a Saskatoon college in a three-bedroom apartment with her children as she worked towards a bachelor of theology degree. Then the college implemented a COVID-19 vaccination and face mask policy.
“I disagreed with it,” said Chipesia. “I didn’t think it was according to Biblical theology.”
Chipesia was expelled and asked to take her children and leave the campus.
“The college threatened to call social services and have my children removed."
Chipesia said that the public schools were closed so she started homeschooling her children. Then in September 2020 when schools re-opened she wanted to continue homeschooling them.
“The public schools all have COVID mandates and I felt they were strongly against my beliefs.”
Chipesia said that for her children to attend during forced mandates, their rights would be violated. Her ex-husband, whom she shared joint custody with, however, disagreed.
“My ex believed strongly in the COVID thing,” said Chipesia. “He was OK with all the mandates. He wanted our kids to be public schooled.”
In court, he won.
In late September 2020, a Saskatoon Court of Queen’s Bench judge ordered that her children had to attend public school.
“I drove my kids to school. They were all crying,” said Chipesia.
“I had to leave them on the school steps crying. I knew that this was so wrong. So, I knew I had to do something. It didn’t seem like anyone else was recognizing what was happening.”
Chipesia made large signs, placed them on her truck, and parked on public property across the street from the public school her children attended.
“I started protesting. It was very peaceful. I didn’t walk around too much. I did the first day. After that I just stood on my truck.
“There was some police presence there,” she added. “They never did approach me saying I was doing something illegal. I wasn’t yelling, I wasn’t screaming, there was no harassment, so I wasn’t charged.”
In December 2020, another Saskatoon Court of Queen’s Bench judge ordered that she couldn’t protest within 250 metres of her children’s elementary school. In addition, the judge ordered that she had to take her children to every scheduled extra-curricular activity when they were with her. By then she no longer had 50-50 shared custody with her ex-husband because a judge had knocked it down to only weekends.
“That was hard,” said Chipesia. “Not only did I have them during the week before but my boys were in hockey and hockey always ended up being on the weekend. My oldest son wanted to play but because the skating was such a physical activity, he had a hard time breathing in the mask. He was wearing glasses and they fogged up and he couldn’t see.”
They also weren’t allowed to play actual hockey games, said Chipesia.
“So, there was no fun in that. When I had them, I didn’t want to take them where they were forced to wear a mask.”
Chipesia said she ended up driving to the arena, taking a picture of the outside of the arena to show they went and then just going home.
“So, I was doing it and not doing it.”
Another Saskatoon Court of Queen’s Bench judge took away all of her parental rights and she didn’t see her children in person for a year.
Chipesia said that for one of her child custody trials she had to submit her criminal record check to the court. She said she has a clean criminal record and didn’t deserve having them taken from her.
During that time, her ex husband forced their children to get the COVID vaccine.
“My ex took them and my daughter fainted when they gave it [vaccine] to her,” she said. “That’s awful. Very cruel and unusual punishment. It is really cruel.
“They have gone through a lot of trauma,” she added. “The only thing that seems to be stable is their faith. That’s what they have been holding on to.”
Since this experience, Chipesia said she has a better understanding of what her grandmother must have gone through when the Canadian government ripped her mother from her grandmother’s arms and forced her into residential school.
“The pain you feel, you feel helpless.”
Chipesia said she could have taken her children out of the country and fled like Dawn Walker did. Walker, 48, is charged with kidnapping her child, faking their deaths, and illegally entering the United States last summer.
“I could have tried taking them to Mexico or something. I could be in jail if I did that. But what do you do? You just stand and fight. I protest peacefully.”
She appealed losing access to her children and in May 2022, the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal gave her access on weekends.
“From that day forward my parenting time was restored so I get my kids on the weekends. Currently I’m trying to get them 50-50 again.”
Chipesia appeals other court orders
Chipesia appealed the court order ruling her children must attend public school rather than be home schooled but her appeal was dismissed by the province's highest court because it was only an interim and not permanent order, said Chipesia.
She missed the appeal against the order ruling she couldn’t protest in front of her children’s elementary school.
“I accidentally missed the hearing. I went to the wrong location. I have to figure out how to fix that.”
Children traumatized
Chipesia said her children have been traumatized by the forced mandates and custody battles and she has noticed behavioural issues they didn’t have previously.
She said her youngest child now has anger issues and violent outbursts, her older son is always seeking approval and constantly washing, and her daughter cries easily.
“None of them were like that [before],” said Chipesia.
Learning forgiveness
With the mandates lifted and Chipesia able to attend her children’s school concerts, she said she has had to learn to forgive the treatment she received.
“I really had to learn how to forgive the teachers and staff,” she said. “I don’t get a say in whether they are in public school or not still. It’s really hard. I’m trying.”
She said the trauma to all children from COVID policies is real.
“It’s just a repeat of history. You have an entire generation across the nation who have been traumatized. The effects are far reaching.
“Inter-generational trauma is real,” she added. “I know. I went through it. Everything my mother went through I went through.”
With loss of children Chipesia joins protests
For the year that Chipesia didn’t have access to her children she kept herself busy with protesting COVID mandates in Saskatoon with her new spouse.
“I would speak at some of the rallies and help set up the sound, organize it, put out flyers for dates.”
Chipesia was one of many people – including Maxime Bernier and Mark Friesen – who were charged with violating the Public Health Act in Saskatoon at several different rallies. For tickets recieved from one rally, the group had a court appearance in Saskatoon Provincial Court Jan. 10 and their matters were adjourned to June.
“I got charged with two tickets,” said Chipesia. “One was for a Mother’s Day event rally. The second one was for a children’s event. I was face painting."
Each of Chipesia’s tickets are $2,800. She is self-represented.
“My argument is, ‘I’m a Christian and I have a right to a belief and my children have a right to a belief and so does every other person.’”
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