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Crying racism Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, August 20, 2010
Earlier this month, a couple of family members camping at Fred Henne Park suggested their eviction was motivated by racist attitudes among park officials and RCMP officers. Those officials came to the family's campsite after quiet hours Aug. 2 to tell them they were being too noisy.
Ruth Casaway, a resident of Medicine Hat, Alta. who was in Yellowknife to attend her niece's funeral, said she planned to lodge a formal complaint. Parks officials and police would have handled the situation differently had she and her family not been of aboriginal descent, she said.
But her admission that her group - numbering up to 10 -- had been drinking and partying that night seriously harmed any chance that her cry of racism would be taken seriously.
If officers were rude and confrontational - an assertion that was disputed by another family member in a letter to the editor published in Yellowknifer Aug. 13 - it doesn't mean they were racist.
The fact is, whether you are aboriginal or not, if you're going to party and drink in a public campground after quiet hours, you stand a good chance of getting the boot and you shouldn't expect authorities to be entirely polite while they're doing their jobs.
National Dene Chief Bill Erasmus says aboriginal people in the city tend to face more racism than immigrants because of stereotypes associated with aboriginals, such as being drunk and homelessness, while immigrants are seen as hard-working and productive.
The existence of these perceptions is hard to dispute, even if held by only a minority of our population.
Three years ago, a senior federal government bureaucrat in Yellowknife was caught red-handed passing around a racist e-mail insulting to aboriginal women.
This bureaucrat's poor judgment showed that it's not just knuckle-dragging Neanderthals living in beaten up old trailers who harbour racist attitudes toward aboriginal people. Sadly, these attitudes still occur in the highest levels of government where one would expect to find more enlightened minds and a higher degree of sophistication.
By the same token, it does nothing to promote harmony and understanding to cry racism every time one has been challenged or feels abused. People are quite capable of being nasty to each other regardless of one's race.
Last month, a rural youth educator from the John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights in Edmonton, Alta., visited Yellowknife and before her visit was complete, she expressed dismay at how poorly Yellowknife fared in a human rights test she administered to 10 young residents of the city.
Considering the small sample size of her group, and the questions asked - one prodded for their views on the presence of slavery in the city -- it would hardly seem an accurate reflection of how our city and territory have made serious efforts to help downtrodden citizens. A transition home for men and a day shelter for the homeless speak to that effort.
Racism and prejudice must be combatted on every level, but those who are quick to complain should be sure they are not levelling accusations without merit.
This, of course, isn't the case. Rivers, lakes, creeks and streams all have a level of interconnectivity and decisions that are made thousands of kilometres away can end up affecting the water that is within a stones throw of many Deh Cho houses.
This level of connectivity makes water stewardship and management all the more important and, therefore, programs that support it. One example of this kind of initiative is the Aboriginal Aquatic Resource and Oceans Management program (AAROM).
The program provides funding to aboriginal groups to allow them to acquire the administrative capacity and scientific expertise to participate in aquatic resource and oceans management.
The Dehcho First Nations' is overseeing the program while the communities establish individualized programs.
Participation in AAROM is important for Deh Cho communities. It's allowing them to reinforce traditional knowledge with scientific data.
The communities with established programs such as Trout Lake are gathering baseline data that will allow them to track any changes that take place in their traditional waterways. The data will provide quantifiable proof of the changes.
In each community, however, there have to be individuals who are interested in gathering the data and making the observations. The Youth Ecology Camp that was held at Ekhali Lake last week provided the atmosphere for fostering that interest in the younger generation.
Through interesting, hands on activities the eight youth participants learned more than they every realized there was to know about the ecology of the lake. Students examined everything from the lake as a whole unit down to its smallest microscopic zooplankton parts. The camp, unsurprisingly, was partially funded by AAROM.
As the industrialization of Canada and the world moves forward access to clean, fresh water will become increasingly important. By taking the right steps now and installing an interest in the youth the Deh Cho can position itself in an enviable position to protect its pristine water resources.
That's what a group of local residents are striving for as they organize Inuvik's upcoming soon-to-be annual multicultural heritage festival, calling on all groups - from here and from away - to cook up a traditional dish and get involved in the town's celebration of its own localized cultural mosaic.
As former mayor Peter Clarkson put it, "any time people can get out and socialize and celebrate as a community, it's a healthy, good thing to do." Few people would disagree with that, especially since Inuvik's population - according to the 2006 census - includes sizeable Arab, African, Chinese, Filipino and South Asian communities for a town its size, as well as a good mix of folks from Gwich'in, Inuvialuit, Metis, Dene and European descents. Inuvik has attracted people from across Canada and all over the world - a fact worth celebrating.
But that fact alone is not enough for Inuvik to claim to be a truly diverse community. We have to reflect that diversity not just on our census forms but in our attitudes and actions toward others, particularly those who are different from us.
Ours is a generally open and accepting community, it's true. But as I walked into the library last Friday afternoon to cover Inuvik's first-ever gay pride event to find five other people in a mostly empty room - the same room where only a week earlier nearly double the number of residents had sat during the first planning session for the multicultural heritage day - it struck me just how much work we still have left to do when it comes to promoting acceptance of all types of diversity in our town. I'm not suggesting the lack of bodies in the room equates a local lack of support for human rights, nor does it necessarily mean that homophobic attitudes are prevalent in town. But it does mean we as a community need to work harder to visibly show our support for equality and take a stand against discrimination on all levels - in our homes, our schools, our workplaces and on our public streets. The upcoming heritage day on Sept. 18, as well as next year's planned gay pride event, are prime opportunities to demonstrate that kind of support, and, ideally, gain a greater understanding of what it means to be a truly diverse community.
Katie May is interim editor of Inuvik Drum. Andrew Rankin will return in September.
The Mackenzie River Basin trans-boundary agreement introduced in 1997 as a guideline for water management has essentially been ignored by British Columbia and Alberta - two jurisdictions that did not sign the agreement -- only the NWT and Yukon are signatories.
BC Hydro's plan to build a 900-megawatt dam and generator on the Peace River will put more pressure on an already strained system, which is already under siege from oil sands developers and struggles with industrial pollution. A proposed hydro-electric project for the Slave River is another potential strain on the water system.
Our water supply is being drained and polluted by jurisdictions that aren't willing to co-operate in protecting and preserving waterways that cross our borders. If the GNWT can't come to a legally-binding agreement with the two provinces in this David versus Goliath-like situation, then it needs to turn to the federal government for support.
Should Ottawa not take the issue seriously then the territorial government needs to consider partnering with aboriginal groups, who have treaty leverage in this situation, and take the issue to the courts. First Nations can bring great strength to the NWT's environmental-preservation position, while the territorial government could provide the legal resources and funding to wage this legal battle.
While such a court case will not come cheap, it will be worth every penny to fight for the safety and protection of our water system.
The former chair of the NWT Power Corporation's board of directors was right in taking the line that privatization of the publicly-owned power company shouldn't happen.
Lew Voytilla, who was fired last week by Premier Floyd Roland, agreed with the findings of two reports on the power corporation and a proposed merger with the Calgary-based ATCO group - a 2009 report titled "Brighter Futures" and a power corporation report released in the spring - both stating there would be no gain from privatizing power in the NWT. If ATCO were to take over the business of supplying power to the North, it would certainly bring changes to the way things are done now. Like any successful business, ATCO would strive to increase profits, which brings the prospects of cutting jobs or increasing rates, while the money flows south to Alberta.
Nonetheless, the contentious discussion on the proposed ATCO takeover has proven useful. The prospect of the power corporation going private has forced the utility to find ways improve its internal operations and show privatization doesn't need to happen. It also motivated the power corp.'s big wigs to go to the communities for consultations, which helps them better understand the issues.
The upcoming changes to the power rate structure and the efficiency recommendations in the power corp.'s report are positive signs the corporation could be changing for the better, even if it took a serious scare to get some action.
A dark and ugly presence has manifested itself in Baker Lake.
This presence is pure evil and goes against not only every aspect of Inuit culture, but just about every culture in the modern world.
When the evil first reared its head about three years ago, it appeared to be the type of stupid and insensitive vandalism that periodically strikes communities across the country.
But now the manner in which bodies have been disturbed in the Baker Lake graveyard suggests foul work is at play, far more severe than random acts of vandalism.
At least four bodies have been disturbed during the past three years and all of them have been female.
In at least one case, the pants of the deceased were left pulled-down, raising the stomach-churning spectre of necrophilia or the spirit-freezing notion of someone trying to practice necromancy.
Either way, it's a demoralizing and frightening time for the community to have to suffer through such indignities being committed.
One can only imagine the hurt and anger being felt by the families of those whose final resting place have been disturbed in such a sinister manner.
The Hamlet of Baker Lake has resorted to encasing some caskets in cement in an attempt to keep away those vile enough to perpetrate such acts.
The local detachment of the RCMP has placed a priority on apprehending those involved with the desecrations.
Having such acts committed in its community is as unsettling for a local police force as the residents it serves.
In the bigger picture, one can't help but wonder how such evil manifested itself in a religious-minded community such as Baker.
Indeed, the vast majority of Kivalliq communities are known and respected for their level of spirituality, and all must be rocked by what's happened in Baker; acts that strike at the very core of their beliefs.
But even more disturbing for the people of Baker Lake is the knowledge of having someone, or some people, so obviously disturbed walking around their community.
If, in fact, those responsible for these acts believe themselves to be truly practising some insidious form of what is often referred to black magic or the dark arts, there is no telling what they may, ultimately, be capable of if they're not apprehended.
That, in itself, is reason enough for the community to aid the police in any manner it can to bring to justice those responsible.
Whether you, personally, believe in such things is immaterial.
The problem is whether those who committed the foul deeds at the Baker graveyard are convinced such things are real.
If they do, the danger of what may happen next is all too real.
Hopefully, people in the community will realize the potential danger that walks among them, and do what they can to eradicate it before someone still drawing breath becomes a victim.
The people behind this evil need help, and the chances are high they're not going to seek it on their own.
The instability of the portfolio has been an issue since the days when Jean Chretien held the position for six years. Since 1974, the department has had 19 different ministers of which only five lasted longer than three years.
Duncan's predecessor, Chuck Strahl, spent three years in the position and laid the ground work for change. It will be Duncan's duty to advance what Strahl began, but there is also a lot more our new minister should be adding to his plate.
Revamping the Food Mail program and a review of the NWT's cumbersome regulatory regime were two of Strahl's most notable projects. Both remain unfinished.
It will now be on Duncan's shoulders to ensure both those issues are resolved with maximum benefit to the NWT. If they fall short, the blame will not fall on Strahl - the general public has much too short a memory for that - Duncan will be tarred with the failure.
On April 11, 2011, the new Nutrition North Canada program, which replaces Food Mail, will come into effect. It is vital INAC ensures the program is not only increasing Northerners' access to healthy foods but that cost savings are being passed onto the customers. A close review of the new program's first year is a must.
We also suggest the department revisit the fact some communities - such as Nahanni Butte - were left out of the program and why others will be deemed ineligible after a year. The rationale is that those communities were not making use of the old Food Mail program, but with past complaints of the program being too hard to access, it is illogical to base eligibility criteria on past usage.
INAC also has a leadership role to play in ensuring the NWT does not lose out on jobs and development opportunities. Strahl told a chamber of commerce gathering in May the current regulatory system could cost the territory upwards of $15 billion in lost opportunities.
Duncan must follow through on reasonable recommendations to streamline the regulatory system to encourage investors and developers to return and do business here. Our communities need jobs and the economic spin-offs that accompany wage earners.
Outstanding land claims agreements in the NWT must be addressed. Both the Akaitcho and the Dehcho First Nations have been negotiating for decades without an agreement. It's time the federal government demonstrate serious commitment to finalizing these agreements. Constantly changing negotiators is a one-step forward two-steps back approach.
Why not apply a performance test? Perhaps if negotiators' salaries and job security were based on results, First Nations would no longer be complaining about Ottawa stall tactics. Aside from the fact these First Nations deserve to be given a chance at self-determination, finalizing the Dehcho agreement would also eliminate a major barrier to the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline.
Lastly, the Turtle Island Native Network reports that the National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations has once again called for the replacement of INAC. Replacing the bureaucratic quagmire that is INAC might not be a bad idea.
It's also an idea Duncan may have supported in the past. In the mid-1990s, he was a member of the Reform Party. Part of the reform platform was the dismantling of INAC in favour of accountable agencies run by and responsible to aboriginal peoples.
We hope to see Duncan in the North soon and suggest he make frequent trips to get a first-hand account of what is needed here.
With a small 13-page document as a slingshot, Okalik Eegeesiak and the Qikiqtani Inuit Association have taken down the Goliath of the government.
Despite the hue and outcry over the granting of a licence for seismic testing to map the geology and potential oil and gas resources in Lancaster Sound, Jones Sound and northern Baffin Bay, few believed anything could be done to stop it.
Ron Elliott, MLA for Quttiktuq, even speculated the only way to stop the testing - a type of testing Inuit said had disrupted whale calving and migration routes in the past -- would be to go out in a boat and engage in some sort of Greenpeace guerrilla-style protest.
The QIA went to court, even though the clock was ticking. The ship with the seismic testing equipment on board had already reached the High Arctic and the start date for the tests was days away.
With Monday morning, Aug. 9 being the start date, the QIA and the federal and territorial governments argued the case in front of Justice Sue Cooper on Thursday and Friday. She handed down her decision Sunday afternoon.
Despite the conclusion of the project's environmental impact statement that the seismic testing would have little or no effect on marine mammals, the report itself contained protocols on how to minimize the effects on wildlife. The fact that such protocols exist, Cooper dryly pointed out, imply seismic tests do indeed have effects on animals.
Hunting whale, seal and other marine mammals is part of Inuit livelihood, and an integral part of the culture. Cooper recognized this, and stated that should the seismic testing disrupt the animals' habits, Inuit would lose a source of food and part of their culture and thus suffer irreparable harm. On the other hand, she concluded the loss suffered by the project's proponents, should the testing be postponed for further legal challenges, would only be financial.
Cooper found in favour of the QIA, granting them an injunction stopping the seismic testing until the legal issues raised could be settled.
Cooper left it up to a trial judge to decide whether or not the consultations conducted by the federal government in the five communities near the testing areas were "meaningful" as required.
But the fact remains that at those consultations, held about two months before the project was to begin, Inuit raised concerns about the effects of seismic testing on marine mammals -- concerns which were not addressed to their satisfaction despite promises modifications would be made to the project.
There is a difference between a consultation and an information session. A consultation is more than a presentation followed by a question and answer session. Knowledge from Inuit must be taken into account and should be used to help shape a project. It's not necessary for everyone to agree on the final outcome, but neither should Inuit concerns be ignored.
This landmark decision will make the federal government and private corporations put greater care into the consultations. It shows that Inuit will not accept half-assed efforts that treat their right to have input on projects involving their land as an afterthought.
And now they have the power of the law behind them.
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