Indigenous team names a case of pride, tribunal hears
Complainant cites concern for his children, institutional racism
AMississauga father proud of his indigenous heritage took the witness stand Monday at the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario in the hopes, he said, that his children will share that pride.
Brad Gallant filed a complaint against the city of Mississauga earlier this year, asking it to stop subsidizing teams with indigenous names and logos.
Growing up, Gallant said, his family’s indigenous ancestry was kept quiet.
“I think family members didn’t want to talk about it, didn’t want to admit it,” said Gallant, 48 and of Qalipu Mi’kmaq ancestry. But he wanted to raise his three children to be proud of their heritage, rather than the way he was raised, he said in sometimes-emotional testimony.
Gallant’s lawyer Jeremiah Raining Bird said the complaint is largely about “preserving a safe environment for (Gallant’s) children, an environment in which they don’t feel ashamed and don’t have to defend themselves against things they can’t control.”
Both Gallant’s daughters played for the Mississauga Chiefs and his son and eldest daughter played for the Lorne Park Ojibwa. At the time, Gallant said he didn’t see the harm in it. It wasn’t till 2014 that his views started to shift. Now, he wouldn’t let his kids play for a team with an indigenous name or logo, he said.
Gallant alleges the names and logos of these teams demonstrate institutional racism and promote stereotypes that shape how indigenous people are viewed in society.
Removing the mascots is the first barrier to letting indigenous people participate in society as equals, he said, acknowledging, “This isn’t fun. I’m asking people to take away their mascots and their teams,” but the logo does not define who they are.
The five hockey teams listed in the case are the Lorne Park Ojibwa, Mississauga Braves, Mississauga Reps (which uses the Chicago Blackhawks’ logo), Mississauga Chiefs and the Meadowvale Mohawks.
Since the complaint was filed, the Ojibwa and the Mohawks have changed their names to the Lorne Park Clarkson Wild and the Meadowvale Hawks respectively, though not directly because of the complaint.
In an earlier interview with the Star, Mississauga Hockey League executive director Jeff Leavens said “It was a coincidence that it worked out,” but that the former Ojibwa team would try to retain part of its past at the hearing.
“They feel it’s important to the history of their club and I think for this season they have a patch on the shoulder of their new jersey with the logo,” he said. “I believe they’re going to drop that for next season since this whole issue has cropped up.”
In a break from the hearing, inhouse counsel to the city of Mississauga, Graham J. Walsh said “the city’s being asked to be placed in the impossible situation (of deciding) what’s discrimination and what’s not.
“We’re sort of the middleman,” said Walsh, because the city is not involved in selecting team names or uniforms.
This isn’t the first time this issue has come up in Ontario. Last month, a judge quashed an activist’s bid to prevent the Cleveland Indians from using its team name and “Chief Wahoo” logo when playing in Toronto. There is still a complaint against the Cleveland team before the Ontario and Canadian human rights tribunals.