Is it always racism?

MADELINE HATCH

"The issue of racism has gotten out of hand. It baffles me that we focus on that when we need to get our children to school and kids shouldn't be having kids. Those are things we should focus on rather than racism," said Madeline Hatch, an aboriginal Winnipegger.

Tansi/Good Day Folks:

Sometimes people are a little too quick to rush to judgment playing the racist card to explain away their own inadequacies. As previously pointed out several times on this site, no race, creed or colour has an exclusive monopoly on discrimination - do the Metis always respect their First Nation cousins and vice versa?

A few years ago had the pleasure of meeting this marvelous lady who was doing some terrific volunteer work at the Turtle Island Neighbour Centre - wise far beyond her years!

Sincerely,
Clare L. Pieuk
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Monday, January 15, 2007
Borne The Brunt
Aboriginals Target Of Racism, Stereotyping
By Joyanne Pursage, Staff Reporter
Winnipeg Sun
January 15, 2007

As a teenager, he learned a brutal lesson about racism.

"We were sitting in a park and a bunch of non-aboriginal guys came and beat the hell out of us," recalled David Chartrand, president of the Manitoba Metis Federation. "At that time we found out the reason they beat us up was because we were a bunch of natives sitting in a park. Where does this hostility come from?"

Linda Simard faced similar hostility, although less overt, when her skin didn't match job interviewers' expectations.

"They would talk to me on the phone, but in person I could guarantee I wouldn't get a job. The enthusiasm just went away," said Simard, a 57-year-old Metis woman who has been looking for work the past two years. "I think it's a big problem for Metis people, unless the person can pass themselves off as white."

On this, Day 2 of a six-part Sun Media series on racism and tolerance, Chartrand and Simard's stories illustrate how Canada's aboriginal people have borne the brunt of prejudice through the years.

Poverty rates remain high in aboriginal communities, fueling social problems and feeding harmful stereotypes. The 2001 census found 32.5% of the country's aboriginal population had low-income status, compared with 27.2% of all visible minority people and 12.4% of the non-aboriginal population.

And while racism has become more subtle, it's still around, said Chartrand.

"A lot of times the colour of your skin and the way you're dressed leads people to come to conclusions quite quickly," said Chartrand.

He said tolerance is increasing but some stereotypes die hard.

"If you're aboriginal, you fall into these categories of welfare recipient and drug abuser. All these images flash into the eyes of the judge, without knowing the person," said Chartrand. "We're slowly clawing our way out of there, but it is slower than we expected."

He said education is the key to change.

"To combat racism, you have to build self-esteem in your people and ensure they feel equal in society," said Chartrand. "We need to understand and educate more."

One place where aboriginals aren't a minority is in many Canadian prisons. Wendy Whitecloud, a law professor specializing in aboriginal issues at the University of Manitoba, said aboriginal people are greatly over-represented behind bars.

Nationally, aboriginal people made up 2.7% of the Canadian population but account for 18.5% of the federal prison population, according to the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics. In Manitoba, aboriginals make up 70% of the total prisoner population, according to Statistics Canada. In Saskatchewan, that figure is a staggering 77%.

Whitecloud said such facts can trigger racist attitudes, when people fail to seek out the root causes of criminal acts.

"It's something that seems to be really ingrained in the West that aboriginal folks just don't have the respect of the larger community and stereotypes fit into that process," said Whitecloud.

Yet some aboriginal people believe the focus on racism would be better directed to address immediate social problems for the community.

"The issue of racism has gotten out of hand. It baffles me that we focus on that when we need to get our children to school and kids shouldn't be having kids. Those are things we should focus on rather than racism," said Madeline Hatch, an aboriginal Winnipegger.

Hatch said over-sensitivity can lead too many issues to be defined as racially motivated.

"A lot of times people yell out 'racism' when it has nothing to do with racism," said Hatch.