B.C. was built on racism ...
... and it’s never left. Our province is still full of prejudice, and it’s actually getting worse
B.C. was built on the evil foundation of racism. Those who stumbled ashore believed they were superior and that the First Nations peoples were inferior.
My older brothers and sisters had to fight their way back and forth to school in the Comox Valley. My older brother, Cal, said that he had to beat up all the racists and bullies in his new school after having done so in his old one.
Cal was in Grade 12 when I was in Grade 1. At recess on my first day of school, he came over to the playground and announced: “This is my little brother Billy and I do not want anyone messing with him!”
Through high school I was able to shrug off the ever-present “subtle” racism, but one incident stands out. My friend offered two non-Indian sisters a ride home. He asked me to get in the back so the sister he liked could sit up front. Both sisters climbed in front saying, “We are not getting in the back with a dirty Indian. What if somebody sees us?”
University was wonderfully different. I loved the multiplicity of races at the University of B.C. There were only a handful of Native Indians on campus when I got there in 1962. I was referred to by some professors as “one of our Indians.”
Most non-Indians on campus were shocked to hear that I was there as a student. This shock was often followed by the ignorant statement. “Oh, you must be taking physical education, I suppose.” I was accused of cheating on exams because of my high scores. On numerous occasions I was required to take exams over. I revelled in doing even better on the second round.
One would hope that racism would lessen, as the truth about Indian treatment is exposed, yet it is actually getting worse.
The recent influx of new immigrants has allowed racism to crawl further out of the swamp of ignorance in which it breeds.
Racism was most apparent to me during my years in “Indian politics.” Standing up for myself and the rights of other Native Indians got me beaten up regularly. Death threats became routine and I was branded a radical and subversive.
I still see or experience racist acts every day. I cannot stand the Indian stereotypes that spring so easily from non-Indian lips!
The fact is that Indians pay taxes, there is no free education, we are not all on welfare, we are not lazy and we are not all drunks!
Two recent incidents pushed my limits.
Outside a large church in Vancouver, where I had reluctantly gone to eulogize my cousin, an old classmate approached me.
“I am so pleased to see that you have come home to the church, Bill,” he said. I nearly punched him.
As bright as he is, he is still stupid enough to believe that he and his church know what is best for me.
The second incident involved a guy whose constant racial slurs drove me out of an “old-boys” lunch group that I had enjoyed for many years. Interrupting a story that I was telling, he stated, “Oh, come on Bill, you have been on the dole all your life.”
I know that he is simply base and needs someone to look down on, but I had had enough. Sad!
I will continue to enjoy my life, despite the ignorance of security guards following me in every store, being served last in shops, being asked to pay in advance for a drink, being criticized for speaking my mind and being viewed as an exception or curiosity for being good at things.
These are minor annoyances to me, but what about those who do not have the strength to stand up to the racists?
What about the young Native Indian children? The constant taunts, the racist jokes, the exclusion, the marginalization, the abuse, the stereotypes and the assumption of inferiority all combined with grinding poverty can cripple anyone.
Constant racism just as constant dripping water can wear down even solid rock.
We must base all our relationships on mutual respect and dignity. Every assumption of superiority or inferiority must be eliminated. Racial sensitivity training must begin in the home.
Every school curriculum must teach the true history of Canada and the contributions that aboriginal people have made to the world. This knowledge should be taught by the Native Indian people.
The cancer of racism must be eliminated.