'On the inside': Why some Indigenous officers stick with the RCMP despite struggles

The RCMP, which marks its 150th anniversary on Tuesday, is struggling with the recruitment, but also the retention, of Indigenous members.

Dean Gladue says he never experienced racism until joining the RCMP.

The 26-year veteran began his career with the force in 1989 as special constable, a role assigned to police First Nations reserves. It was a rank below his non-Indigenous colleagues, who were better paid.

It felt like he was "a second-class citizen," he said in a recent interview.

After the program shuttered, Gladue transitioned into a job as a regular constable. The 25-year-old Metis man would then overhear offhand comments around the office, with ones like how a "dead Indian's a good Indian" later brushed off as stress when raised to a supervisor.

"You just take the beating. You just take it," he said.

"Then as you get older, you start to realize, 'Why did I do that'?"

Gladue had been interested in policing since childhood, and saw the RCMP as a good career, especially once his pay improved. He also knew he could retire before 50, which he did.