Racism remains evident in city
But work is being done to counter the problem, SACPA told
High school students’ “cowboys and Indians” parties aren’t the only signs of racism in Lethbridge.
Members of a “white posse” continue to prowl city streets, a Lethbridge audience learned Thursday — assaulting aboriginal men, young and old.
And a University of Lethbridge professor reported the racist “Brocket 99” broadcast now lives on, on the internet.
But Linda Many Guns, a member of the university’s Native American Studies faculty, also praised local initiatives aimed at countering racism in its many forms.
Lethbridge City Council may have been the first, she said, to approve a city-wide response to recommendations from the federal Truth and Reconciliation process. City residents turned out to help an indigenous artist restore a work of public art that had been desecrated.
Many Guns also described the history-based “Blanket Exercise,” presented here by members of several Lethbridge church congregations, as an authentic and powerful learning experience.
And she reported some school jurisdictions, after years of turning a blind eye to some of their students’ racist activities, now want to take steps to halt them.
Speaking to the Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs, Many Guns said variations of the “cowboys and Indians” scenario have been seen in Lethbridge for many years. Parents have complained to school officials, she said, but to no avail.
“How can an entire city ignore what’s been going on?”
Now that a Lethbridge student has spoken up — and the story has been heard across North America — Many Guns said school officials have reached out to NAS faculty members here.
“There’s actually a serious effort to open a dialogue.”
But racism isn’t just a school problem, she cautioned. “It’s throughout society.” While today’s younger generations seem more welcoming of diversity, she said Canada’s history of second-class status for their indigenous neighbours was reinforced by the restrictive Indian Act, as well as government actions dating back to the British North America Act long before Confederation.
If someone witnessed injustice toward First Nations, she said, “People could be put in jail if they tried to help.” Government-appointed “Indian agents” could also toss any band member in jail.
Over many decades of oppression, “That becomes deeply imbedded” in how Canadians think.
City council’s commitment this week was to a 10-year educational process, Many Guns reported, and that’s a response that could prove effective.
“Lethbridge could be the first city to put something like this together.”
At the same time, she agreed with a questioner about the level of indigenous citizens’ representation in the city’s decision-making.
“It’s a disgrace we have no aboriginal representation on city council.”
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