Days after a 28-year-old was shot to death, the Standing Buffalo reserve is considering the role of alcohol in the community.

Mario Kaiswatum died after being shot inside a home on the reserve on New Year's Day. A 55-year-old man from the Standing Buffalo First Nation is charged with first-degree murder.

Police are still investigating the circumstances around the shooting, which happened at this house near Fort Qu'Appelle. (Dean Gutheil/CBC)

On Monday, Chief Rodger Redman confirmed that alcohol played a role in the death.

"In this circumstance, to me, alcohol was a factor. It was a contributing factor to this unfortunate incident," Redman said.

Right now there is a partial ban in place that prohibits liquor in houses with more than one family. But Redman said it's not so easy to move towards an all-out ban.

Bans hard to enforce

Both the RCMP and band council acknowledge alcohol as an issue in the community, but a full ban would also be challenging to enforce, according to the RCMP.

"Alcohol is so readily available that, then it becomes another issue itself, is the enforcement of that," said Fort Qu'Appelle RCMP Staff Sgt. Randy Slawson.

The band chief said there are also legal implications further complicating a decision.

"Individuals rights as a homeowner and stuff like that have to be considered, so there's a lot of different aspects we'd have to look at, said Redman.

RCMP are still investigating the circumstances around the death.