welcome to winnipeg where canada’s racism problem is at its worst

8/9/2019 Welcome to Winnipeg Where Canadas Racism Problem is at Its Worst

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Welcome to Winnipeg: Where Canadas racism

problem is at its worst

How the death of Tina Fontaine has nally forced the city

to face its festering race problem.

Nancy Macdonald-January 22, 2!"

The

lma Favel, Tina Fontaines aunt, cant forgive herself for letting Tina go to Winnipeg. (Photographs in this

story by John Woods

!h "oddd ho# long are aboriginal people going to use #hathappened as a crutch to suc$ more money out of %anadians&' Winnipeg teacher rad
http://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/welcome-to-winnipeg-where-canadas-racism-problem-is-at-its-worst/http://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/welcome-to-winnipeg-where-canadas-racism-problem-is-at-its-worst/http://www.macleans.ca/author/nancy88/https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/10428713_10152758593343950_2310431571038213691_n.jpg?oh=76af491db17b6e1b06d1ecd44813682d&oe=552C47F7&__gda__=1428341473_93f5d545001073fc21d0851ac1fb9af4http://www.macleans.ca/author/nancy88/http://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/welcome-to-winnipeg-where-canadas-racism-problem-is-at-its-worst/http://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/welcome-to-winnipeg-where-canadas-racism-problem-is-at-its-worst/


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adiu$ #rote on Faceboo$ last month. )They have contributed *!T+*" to thedevelopment of %anada. Just standing #ith their hand out. "et to #or$, tear thetreaties and shut the F up already. Why am on the hoo$ for their cultural support&'

nother day in Winnipeg, another hateful screed against the citys gro#ing indigenous

population. This one from a teacher (no# on unpaid leave at elvin +igh /chool, longconsidered among the citys progressive schools0alma mater to 1ust about everyWinipegger of note, from 2arshall 2c3uhan to 44y sper, Fred Penner and *eil5oung.

adiu$s comments came to light the day 6inelle +arper0the shy 78-year-oldindigenous girl left for dead in the citys ssiniboine 6iver after a brutal se9ual assault0spo$e publicly for the first timeafter her recovery. /he called for an in:uiry to helpe9plain #hy so many indigenous girls and #omen are being murdered in Winnipeg,and else#here in %anada.

adiu$s comments came #hile the city #as still reeling from the murder of TinaFontaine, a 7;-year-old child from the /ag$eeng First *ation #ho #as #rapped inplastic and tossed into the 6ed 6iver after being se9ually e9ploited in the citys core.

They came after *unavummiu: musician Tanya Taga:, last years Polaris 2usic Pri4e#inner, #ho complained that #hile out to lunch in do#nto#n Winnipeg #here she #asperforming #ith the citys ballet this fall, )a man started follo#ing me calling me a


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ut indigenous activists believe Tina Fontaines death also mar$ed a turning point inrace relationsC that, for perhaps the first time, the brutali4ation and murder of a 7;-year-old #as not dismissed in Winnipeg as an )boriginal problem.' ronically, fromthe falls horrific events, a sense of unity has begun to emerge. @ven Thelma Favel, #ho

raised Tina, believes her niece did not die in vain. 2eaningful change #ill not comeeasily, but all this holds the promise, ho#ever faint, of a more hopeful future for thecity.

Thelma, #ho never misses the suppertime ne#s, tried to stri$e fear into the hearts ofher nieces, Tina and /arah Fontaine. /hed sho# them TD programs on murdered andmissing indigenous #omen, clip ne#spaper articles. )ts not safe out there forboriginals girls,' shed caution.

n the end, even she #as unable to protect Tina. !n ug. 7E, the girls remains #erepulled from the 6ed 6ivers mur$y #aters near the le9ander oc$s in do#nto#nWinnipeg. The murder of the 7;-year-old #as only the most recent, horrifying e9ampleof the violence faced by Winnipegs indigenous community0a #orld apart from #hiteWinnipeg. Police divers discovered her by accidentA they #ere searching the 6ed forthe dro#ned remains of Faron +all, the a$ota man dubbed the )+omeless +ero' fort#ice saving Winnipeggers from the river that eventually too$ his life.

Tinas body #as found in the same spot #here, in 2arch 7G87, the remains of Jean2ochars$i #ere found0the first cold case from Winnipeg in a ne# database ofmurdered and missing boriginal #omen. The >?-year-old mother of seven had beenbeaten and stabbed. 3i$e Tinas, her murder remains unsolved. )We value dogs morethan #e do these #omen,' says indigenous play#right an 6oss.
http://www.winnipegsun.com/2014/06/02/arrest-made-in-historical-homicidehttp://www.winnipegsun.com/2014/06/02/arrest-made-in-historical-homicidehttp://www.winnipegsun.com/2014/06/02/arrest-made-in-historical-homicidehttp://www.winnipegsun.com/2014/06/02/arrest-made-in-historical-homicide


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Thelma, an elo:uent mother of three, and her husband, Joseph, had been caring forTina and /arah since they #ere three and four, #hen their father, @ugene, #asdiagnosed #ith lymphoma. (Their mother had left the girls as babies. @ugene hadbeen raising the girls on his o#n in Winnipeg, #here he #or$ed at a tire plant. +e

$ne# the girls #ould be better off #ith Thelma, his aunt, #ho had helped raise him.

n a hand#ritten note dated *ov. H7, HII?, #hich still hangs in a simple #ooden framein Thelmas living room in Po#ervie#-Pine Falls, about 7II $m northeast of Winnipeg,@ugene signed over temporary custody of Tina, his )little mon$ey,' and /arah, #homhed lovingly nic$named )chubby.' Tina, a beautiful #isp of a girl, flourished at colePo#ervie# after Thelma pulled her and /arah from their reserve school. 2ath #as herfavourite sub1ect. +er boyfriend #as deafC the pair communicated by te9ting.

@ugene #as a constant presence. +e never missed %hristmas or a birthday. ut henever had the chance to bring them bac$ home to Winnipeg. +e became addicted tohis pain medication and the alcohol he #as using to cope. !n !ct. ?7, HI7701ust shy ofthe four months doctors told him he had left to live0@ugene #as beaten to death in adispute over money.

Tina #as left deeply scarred. )T#o people #ere $illed that night,' says Thelma. 3astspring, Tina ran a#ay t#ice to Winnipeg to visit her mom0a relationship Thelmaencouraged, feeling the girl needed another parental bond after losing her dad. n earlyJuly, she allo#ed Tina to visit her mom in Winnipeg for a #ee$A it #as her re#ard for

e9cellent grades that June. The night before she left, the family gathered to pray andas$ for protection, as they do every night. The ne9t morning Thelma gave Tina K8I anda calling card. )f things dont #or$ out, use the calling card and ll come get you,' shesaid.

When Tina didnt come home, Thelma reported her missing to police. 3ittle is $no#nabout #hat happened to her in the #ee$s after that. /he cut off her long, blac$ hair.+er family believes she began using drugs. Friends say she #as #or$ing in the se9trade to earn money. /he #as failed repeatedly by agencies meant to protect her.

!n ug. L, police came across Tina in a roadside stopA she #as in a vehicle #ith a maledriver #ho #as allegedly into9icated. +e #as ta$en into police custody. !fficers letTina go, even though she #as listed as a high-ris$ missing person. fe# hours latershe #as rushed to %hildrens +ospital after being found passed out in a core-area bac$alley. +er family #as not notified she #as in hospital. When she #o$e, %hild andFamily /ervices placed Tina in a do#nto#n hotel #here she #as allo#ed to #al$ a#ay.(n 2arch HI7>, the average number of $ids in city hotels #as 8;, up from 7E t#o years


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earlier. The bloated system simply cannot cope #ith the huge number of children incare in 2anitoba. lmost GI per cent of children in foster care in 2anitoba areboriginal, the highest rate in %anada.Tina #as last seen on ug. G, shortly after ? a.m., by a ne# friend. ) #ant to go hometo /ag$eeng, #here m loved,' she told her. The friend says Tina #as approached by a

man #ho as$ed her to perform a se9 act. @ight days later she #as pulled from the river,identified by a tattoo on her bac$ bearing the name of her father, @ugene.

!n a recent frigid #ee$day afternoon, a 7>-year-old boriginal girl, coming off a highafter huffing gas, told 2acleans none of her girlfriends have changed their behaviourin the #a$e of Tinas murder, laughing at the suggestion. /hed $no#n Tina. +erfriends $no# 6inelle +arper. )Thats never going to happen to us,' she said. Withindays, Winnipeg police #ould announce another missing boriginal girl last seen in the*orth @nd. /he is 1ust 7>0missing more than a month.

/ince Tinas death, Thelma has refused to leave her tidy home on 3ouis 6iel rive.)@very time leave the house feel li$e m having a panic attac$.' /he cant forgiveherself for letting Tina go to Winnipeg. )ts li$e somebody ripped your heart out ofyour chest. To this day, its li$e theyre stomping, stomping, stomping on it.

They treated her li$e garbage, #rapping her up in a bag and thro#ing her into theriver,' she says. )/he #asnt garbage. /he #as my baby.'

Tinas story cast a spotlight onto the shameful state of life for many boriginals in

Winnipeg, #here disdain for poor, inner-city *atives has long bubbled 1ust barelybeneath the surface. When measuring racism, social scientists tend to rely on opinionpolling and media analyses. 3ast year, for e9ample, Winnipeg recorded the highestproportion of racist t#eets of the si9 %anadian cities $no#n for high levels of hatecrime, according to data collected by Mniversity of lberta researcher rfan %haudhry.(2anitoba recorded the second-highest rate of hate crimes last year, after !ntario,according to a recent report.
http://www.sociology.ualberta.ca/FacultyStaffandGraduateStudent/PhDStudents/CHAUDHRYIrfan.aspxhttp://www.sociology.ualberta.ca/FacultyStaffandGraduateStudent/PhDStudents/CHAUDHRYIrfan.aspx


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t is difficult to isolate Winnipeg or even 2anitoba in opinion polling, #hich tends togroup the Prairie provinces (2anitoba and /as$atche#an together. ut from them, adeeply troubling portrait of the region emerges. n poll after poll, 2anitoba and/as$atche#an report the highest levels of racism in the country, often by a #idemargin.

!ne in three Prairie residents believe that )many racial stereotypes are accurate,' fore9ample, higher than any#here else in %anada. n lberta, 1ust H? per cent do,according to polling by the %anadian nstitute for dentities and 2igration(%2.

nd ;H per cent of Prairie residents agree that boriginals economic problems are)mainly their fault.' *ationally, the figure drops to ?8 per cent.

2anitoba and /as$atche#an also report the highest number of racist incidents,according to polling conducted by the ssociation for %anadian /tudies and the%anadian 6ace 6elations Foundation. n the last year, nine in 7I 2anitobans reportedhearing a negative comment about an indigenous person. Nt#eet thisOThats compared#ith si9 in 7I in *e# runs#ic$, according to that poll.

"enerally, #hen groups interact, there is a correlating drop in pre1udice asunderstanding gro#s, says Jac$ Jed#ab, e9ecutive vice-president of the ssociation for%anadian /tudies. ut in 2anitoba, #here 7E per cent of the population is boriginal0the highest proportion among provinces, and four times the national average0and#here 8H per cent reported )some contact' #ith indigenous people in the last year, theopposite appears to be true. Just si9 per cent of people in 2anitoba and /as$atche#anconsider boriginal people )very trust#orthy.' n tlantic %anada, HL per cent do.
http://www.acs-aec.ca/en/ciim/https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=http%3A%2F%2Fow.ly%2FHM8Wt&via=macleansmag&text=%27In%20the%20last%20year%2C%209/10%20Manitobans%20reported%20hearing%20a%20negative%20comment%20about%20an%20indigenous%20person.%27&https://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/eng/1376329205785/1376329233875http://www.acs-aec.ca/en/ciim/https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=http%3A%2F%2Fow.ly%2FHM8Wt&via=macleansmag&text=%27In%20the%20last%20year%2C%209/10%20Manitobans%20reported%20hearing%20a%20negative%20comment%20about%20an%20indigenous%20person.%27&https://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/eng/1376329205785/1376329233875


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Just 87 per cent of Prairie residents said they #ould be comfortable having anboriginal neighbour, compared #ith LI per cent in !ntario, according to a recent%%@nvironics pollC and 1ust ;I per cent #ould be comfortable being in a romanticrelationship #ith an indigenous person, compared to 88 per cent in !ntario, Quebecand tlantic %anada.

This #as a particularly bi4arre result, says*iigaan /inclair, #ho teaches *ative studiesat the Mniversity of 2anitobaC after all, he adds #ith a chuc$le, one in t#o 2anitobanshas indigenous blood. n the end, #e are #ho #e thin$ #e are. %ulture defines identity.

n 2anitoba, the problem appears to be getting #orse, not better, at a time #hen theboriginal population is the fastest-gro#ing in the province. The province registered asignificant decline in its opinion of boriginal people in the last five years. Just 7? percent of 2anitobans have )very favourable' vie#s of boriginal citi4ens, the lo#estshare in the country, and do#n from ?H per cent in HIIE, according to %2 data.

/o #hat e9plains the unusually high degree of discrimination& To /inclair, it is nocoincidence that 2anitoba #as the only province founded in violence. The failedindigenous uprising headed by 2etis leader 3ouis 6ielled directly to the even bloodier*orth#est 6ebellion 7; years later, creating generations of animosity. ut theplay#right an 6oss believes this discrimination is largely borne of fear0)that ndiansare getting something you dont have.'

@arlier this fall, 6obert Falcon-!uellette, director of the Mniversity of 2anitobas

boriginal focus programs, hit the "rant Par$ /hopping %entre in Winnipegs southend to hustle for signatures for his mayoral nomination form. The ?E-year-old #as alate entrant to the election. +ed cobbled together a campaign staff0idealistic politicalneophytes he $ne# from academia and activists hed met at last years dle *o 2orerallies.

t #as an ugly entry into politics. ) $no# you,' a shopper told Falcon-!uellette,approaching him shortly after he arrived at the mall. )5oure that guy running formayor. 5oure an ndian,' he said, pointing a finger at Falcon-!uellette. ) dont #ant

to sha$e your hand. 5ou ndians are the problem #ith the city. 5oure all la4y. 5ouredrun$s. The social problems #e have in the city are all related to you.'
http://umanitoba.ca/centres/ccwoc/artists_affiliates/Sinclair.htmlhttp://umanitoba.ca/centres/ccwoc/artists_affiliates/Sinclair.htmlhttp://www.cbc.ca/archives/categories/politics/parties-leaders/rethinking-riel/the-north-west-rebellion.htmlhttp://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/at-home-with-robert-falcon-ouellette-and-his-family-1.2798642http://umanitoba.ca/centres/ccwoc/artists_affiliates/Sinclair.htmlhttp://www.cbc.ca/archives/categories/politics/parties-leaders/rethinking-riel/the-north-west-rebellion.htmlhttp://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/at-home-with-robert-falcon-ouellette-and-his-family-1.2798642


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2ichael %hampagne, left, holds #ee$ly rallies in the *orth @ndC Jenna Wirchs life hasbeen filled #ith suicide, se9 #or$ and foster homes. (Photograph by John Woods

Comments like these were the reason Falcon-Ouellettewho lost his mayoral run but is

currently seeking the Liberal nomination for Winnipeg Centre, a riding long held by the !"#s"at $artinchose to enter politics last summer% & want to change perceptions,' he says% &

ha(e my "h%!%, two masters# degrees% & was in the army for )* years,' says the Cree academic,

who ties his long, chestnut hair in a tidy braid% o matter what & dofor some people it will

ne(er be enough%' &nitially, Falcon-Ouellette was written off as a fringe candidate% +ut his

campaign took off when he outed Winnipeg as a city di(ided by colour, opening a door on the

soul of the city,' according to local reporter ean a(anagh%

/hortly after, the Winnipeg Free Press released poll resultssho#ing that E; per cent of

Winnipeggers consider the citys divide bet#een boriginal and non-boriginalciti4ens a )serious problem.' (*ationally, 2anitobans are most #orried by a rise inracismA 8; per cent, versus >L per cent in neighbouring !ntario.

n the end, Falcon-!uellette finished third. Winnipeg chose rian o#man, an urbane,boyish-loo$ing privacy la#yer over *P veteran Judy Wasylycia-3eis by a #idemargin. n the days after the election, o#man #as anointed the citys first 2etismayor by local media, although his heritage came as a surprise to most Winnipeggers.
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/special/civicelection2014/Gulf-between-natives-and-non-aboriginals-serious-poll-shows-278350971.htmlhttp://www.winnipegfreepress.com/special/civicelection2014/Gulf-between-natives-and-non-aboriginals-serious-poll-shows-278350971.html


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o#man, in an intervie# #ith 2acleans shortly after his s#earing-in, too$ pains todo#nplay tal$ of a racial divide in the cityA )6acism affects many communities aroundthe country,' he said. ) dont li$e the tag0G,EGI. The homicides that plague the city, earning it the nic$name)2urderpeg' and the countrys highest rate of violent crime, are a primarily *orth @ndphenomenon. !n a recent visit there, a /el$ir$ venue clothing store0one of fe#remaining businesses on a strip cro#ded #ith social service agencies and boarded-up
http://www.winnipegboyz.net/http://www.winnipegboyz.net/


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storefronts0#as closing for good. The area had simply become too dangerous, thestores o#ner e9plained.!ne in three *orth @nd residents drop out of school before "rade G, leaving huges#aths of young residents #holly disconnected from the labour mar$et. !ne in si9children are apprehended by 2anitobas %hild and Family /ervices. "irls as young as

77 or 7H routinely #or$ the stroll. !n *orth 2ain /treet, traffic slo#s to a stall #heninto9icated residents stumble across the street. /olvent abuse is as common asalcoholism here, and rising. @ven in ecembers cold, $ids as young as nine clutch gas-soa$ed ragsC some have begun stuffing them directly into their mouths for a morepo#erful high.

used to tell myself #ouldnt live to see my s#eet 78,' says H>-year-old Jenna Wirch.) #as sure #as going to die before then.' oth Wirchs sisters committed suicide#hen they #ere gro#ing up. Four of her closest friends have also died by suicide. !nehung herself in an alley using her dogs leash. /he #as 77. Wirchs mom put her to #or$in the se9 trade before her 7Ith birthday. /he ran a#ay at 77, then bounced bet#eenthe street and a long list of foster homes. !ne #as a crac$ house. T#o friends #erestabbed to death in front of her, one #ith a machete. This is a *orth @nd childhood.

The areas hospitali4ation rate for violence is almost seven times that of the #ider city.Within a year, roughly HI per cent of youth treated for violence #ill be bac$ in hospitalsee$ing treatment for another in1ury, says %arolyn /nider, an @6 doctor at the corearea +ealth /ciences %entre. )f that same number #as :uoted for stro$e or heartattac$s or many of the other conditions #e treat, there #ould be uproar.' /nider, #ho

trained at the countrys t#o largest trauma centres in do#nto#n Toronto, says she #asutterly unprepared for the degree of violence she encounters daily in Winnipeg. 2uchof the violence is committed #ithin the boriginal youth community itself. Thet#oaccused of the *ovember assault of 6inelle +arper are boriginal. Just eight per centof boriginal #omen are $illed by strangersC the ma1ority are murdered by theirspouses or boyfriends (>I per cent, family members (H? per cent or ac:uaintances(?I per cent.

Jon %, of the Winnipeg oy4, calls theirs the )bruised generation'A t#o generations

removed from residential schooling but still reeling from its effects. )2y grandmother#ent to full-time residential school0the ones #ho #ere beaten and brain#ashed,' hesays. )2y o#n mother never lived #ith herC she never learned ho# to loo$ after me andmy sister, to nurture us.' +e remembers sitting through #ild, all-night parties as atoddler. ) remember my eyes 1ust burning because there #as so much smo$e.' +estole food to stave off hunger as a boy. For a #hile his bed #as a sheet on a cementbasement floor.ts this sorry state of affairs that leads many in the city to loo$ do#n on the boriginal
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/two-men-charged-with-attempted-murder-after-attack-on-winnipeg-teen/article21553030/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/two-men-charged-with-attempted-murder-after-attack-on-winnipeg-teen/article21553030/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/two-men-charged-with-attempted-murder-after-attack-on-winnipeg-teen/article21553030/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/two-men-charged-with-attempted-murder-after-attack-on-winnipeg-teen/article21553030/


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population, or to dismiss the *orth @nd as a *ative-only problem.

Tyler +enderson, a HL-year-old !1ib#ay nursing student at the Mniversity of2anitoba, says he feels racism every time he #al$s out his front door. +enderson saysWinnipeg police stopped him 7; times last year. )5ou fit the description,' police tell

him #hen he as$s #hat he did #rong. !nce, police claimed hed pulled to a stop a fe#inches beyond the stop line. )t ma$es me mad,' he says. )ut theres nothing cando.' /ome young indigenous men are stopped t#ice per month in the inner city,according to Mniversity of 2anitoba criminologist @li4abeth %omac$.

6osanna eerchild, a local indigenous #riter and broadcaster, says that every fe##ee$s she is harassed. )/omeone hon$s at me, or yells out


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for seven years. )@ven opposing coaches and refs call our $ids


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The *orth @nd +oc$ey Program subsidi4es registration fees for boriginal youthC itsfounders also hope to open a coo$ing school. (Photograph by John Woods.yler /enderson (isited $ontreal recently% /e felt like a weight had been lifted% "olice ignored

him% o one eyed him suspiciously walking down the street at night% /e felt free%

nstitutions are meant to be colour-blind. 3ast month, 2anitoba released its reportinto the HIIL death of rian /inclair. The >;-year-old had sought treatment at the+ealth /ciences %entre (+/% for a bloc$ed catheter. /inclair #as 2etis, #ith a host ofhealth and social issues and a past history of substance abuse. +ed lost both legs tofrostbite on a bitter February night the year before. +is landlord had loc$ed him out.

lthough /inclair initially spo$e to a triage aide at +/%, he #as never formallyregistered and #as not seen by a nurse. s his condition deteriorated, he vomited

repeatedly. /till, no hospital staff chec$ed on him or as$ed if he #as o$ay. 1anitor#ho mopped up his vomit placed a silver bo#l on the floor in front of his #heelchair.!n four separate occasions concerned patients as$ed staff to chec$ on him. *one did.Finally, a security guard #as prodded into chec$ing on him by another patient. ythen, ?> hours after arriving in hospital, /inclair #as dead. 6igor mortis had set in.

2any staff testified theyd believed /inclair #as homeless or into9icated or )sleeping itoff,' and not in need of care. espite this, 1udge Tim Preston ruled last February that
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the in:uest #ould not e9plore #hy those assumptions #ere made, nor ho# they mightbe avoided. The in:uest #ould strictly focus on reducing #ait times and hospitalovercro#ding. t that point, /inclairs family #al$ed out. n ecember, they slammedthe in:uest as a #asted opportunity. )/tereotypes are at the root of #hy rian #asignored for ?> hours,' said rians cousin 6obert /inclair. )Those stereotypes have not

gone a#ay.'

on 2ar$s, a Winnipeg #riter, recently visited an @6 #ith an indigenous friend.Theyd dropped a painting, and the bro$en glass had cut his friend. )#B' a nursee9claimed in greeting them. )+ave #e been drin$ing and fighting again&' The nursesassumptions #ere harmless, says 2ar$s, #ho edits "rassroots *e#s, an boriginalne#spaper. )ut this #as someone responsible for treating *ative people in ourhospitals. We all $no# racism e9ists in our health care system.'

/everal boriginals told 2acleans of occasions #here they felt they #ere not treatedfairly or :uic$ly enough because of #ho they #ere. !ne, #ho had lacerations to hisface, arms and s$ull, estimated losing one litre of blood #hile #aiting up to three hoursfor treatment in a Winnipeg @6. +e #as given a to#el to contain the bleeding. +ebelieves he should have been seen by a physician immediately and might have, had henot been yet another young boriginal in1ured in a stabbing.

Mnderstaffing and clogged #aiting rooms cannot e9plain /inclairs death. The @6 #asfully staffed the day he died. Fully 7E staff members admitted seeing that he #as there.nd almost every angle of 2anitobas #ell-documented #ait-time problem had already

been e9plored by government studies and media reports. To many Winnipeggers0atleast to boriginal ones0this #as yet another #hite#ash.

fe# years ago, an in:uest #as held on the murders of t#o boriginal sisters #hodcalled Winnipeg police for help five times to their *orth @nd before they #ere fatallystabbed. !perators believed the #omen #ere into9icatedC police responded to theinitial call, but didnt return again for several hours. y then it #as too late. n in:uestinto their murders blamed )poor training.' 6acism and stereotyping #ere notconsidered.


15/19

6obert Falcon-!uellette, director of the Mniversity of 2anitobas boriginal focusprograms. (Photograph by John WoodsOther Western cities celebrate their First ations heritage% alish art co(ers the hoods of

0ancou(er#s police cars, strip malls, e(en its pothole co(ers% .he 0ancou(er Canucks wear a

/aida whale on their 1erseys% Fin, their mascot, beats a /aida drum2 and the team#s player ofthe game dons a /aida hat% $a1or indigenous art installations dot the city 3the inukshuk at

4nglish +ay became the symbol for the 0ancou(er Olympics5% .he city#s airport houses the

country#s most impressi(e collection of indigenous art, including +ill 6eid#s 7ade Canoe, once

depicted on the 89: bill% &n downtown 0ancou(er, a new public museum de(oted to northwest

coastal art recently opened% ;ll of this is strikingly absent from Winnipeg, the indigenous heart

of the continent, despite a flurry of new public buildings%

n /eptember, roughly one $ilometre do#nstream from the site Tina Fontaines body

#as discovered in the 6ed, the K?;7-million %anadian 2useum for +uman 6ightsopened at the For$s, the sacred confluence of the 6ed and ssiniboine rivers. The 7H-storey mountain of concrete and stone houses 1ust t#o ma1or e9hibits directlyaddressing indigenous abuses. There are reflections on the indigenous e9perienceelse#here.

longside a treaty encased in glass there is no mention of the reality for *atives #hoagreed to its terms and resettled to reservesC there, they #ere barred from even leaving


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#ithout apartheid-style )passes.' They slo#ly starved as the bison they relied on #ere#iped out. ll this happened in the museums bac$yard.

%olonialism didnt 1ust impact boriginal people,' says Perry ellegarde, the ne#national chief of the ssembly of First *ations. )t forever changed the #ay the

@uropean population on the Prairies #ould see boriginals as a problem, never apartner.'

t is no coincidence that on a huge range of metrics, the indigenous community isfaring #orse in 2anitoba than any other province. 2anitoba, for e9ample, has the#orst school attendance record among boriginal youth of any province or territory.nd 1ust HL per cent of indigenous 2anitobans living on reserve graduate high school,fe#er than in any other province. n boriginal boy in 2anitoba is more li$ely to endup in prison than graduate.

The province imprisons a higher proportion of its indigenous population thanapartheid /outh frica did its blac$ population. /i9ty-five per cent of inmates at /tony2ountain Penitentiary, a medium-security prison 1ust outside Winnipeg, areindigenous, the countrys highest boriginal incarceration rate measured by 1ail. nindigenous 2anitoban born tomorro# is e9pected to live eight fe#er years than a#hite boy born in the province.

These are neither boriginal nor #hite problems, says ivesA theyre a Winnipegproblem. )Mntil everyone in the city understands that the health and #ell-being of the

rapidly gro#ing indigenous community is ine9tricably lin$ed to the health of the cityoverall #e have a big problem.'

n the ne9t decade, one in three $ids entering $indergarten in 2anitoba #ill beboriginal, says Jamie Wilson, treaty commissioner for 2anitoba. ll those $ids aregoing to enter the #or$force, he adds. That cohort has the potential to shape the futureof the province. To Wilson, the :uestion is simpleA does 2anitoba #ant to create as$illed, educated #or$force or an army of underemployed, undereducated indigenousyouth dependent on government assistance and services& ts an increasingly urgent

concern #hen roughly EI per cent of ne# 1obs re:uire some postsecondary education.

Wilson gre# up shuttling bac$ and forth bet#een his northern 2anitoba reserve andthe beachA both his parents earned doctorates from the Mniversity of %alifornia at/anta arbara. Ten years ago, after serving as a /pecial !perations 6anger in the M./.rmy, he returned to !pas$#aya$ %ree *ation, 1ust outside The Pas, to serve asdirector of education.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/perry-bellegarde-elected-new-national-chief-of-assembly-of-first-nations/article22026566/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/perry-bellegarde-elected-new-national-chief-of-assembly-of-first-nations/article22026566/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/perry-bellegarde-elected-new-national-chief-of-assembly-of-first-nations/article22026566/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/perry-bellegarde-elected-new-national-chief-of-assembly-of-first-nations/article22026566/


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+e couldnt $eep :ualified teachers on reserve. +e doesnt blame themA )f they drovea mile do#n the road to teach at a school in the provincial system, theyd earn K7I,IIImore per year.' The problems of underfunding have been #ell documentedA federallyfunded reserve schools receive >I per cent of the funding that non-reserve schools do,amounting to a per child gap of KH,III to K?,III. 2any reserve schools dont have

libraries. !ne in three doesnt even have running #ater.

ut since Tina Fontaines murder, the ground has suddenly begun to shift in Winnipeg. vigil held in her memory #as )one of the most remar$able and massive inWinnipegs history,' according to *iigaan /inclair, #ho called it a )turning point' inethnic relations. +ed never seen so many #hite faces at an boriginal event before.)Winnipeggers, for perhaps the first time, sa# Tina as their o#n.'/omeho#, she opened peoples eyes0NpeopleO #hod been trying so hard to $eepthem shut,' says social activist *oRlle ePape.

The city certainly does not #ant for organi4ations trying to help indigenousWinnipeggers. ut a ne# generation of remar$able young activists is ta$ing mattersinto their o#n hands. 2eet 2e at the ellto#er, a one-time rally to ta$e bac$ the *orth@nd, has become a #ee$ly call to actionA every Friday, families and young peoplegather at the /el$ir$ venue bellto#er in the heart of the *orth @nd to demonstrateagainst violence. The event #as launched by 2ichael %hampagne, a dynamic, HE-year-old T@ Tal$ veterannever seen #ithout at least a half-do4en young acolytes.%hampagne is li$e the Pied Piper of the neighbourhood, empo#ering a generation ofindigenous $ids.

@very /unday, lthea "uiboche, a %ree mother of seven $no#n as )the bannoc$ lady,'can be found feeding ?II hot chili and bannoc$ meals on *orth 2ain. The ears,mean#hile, are building on the success of the *orth @nd +oc$ey Programand hope tolaunch a program for teen girls and a coo$ing school for at-ris$ indigenous youth laterthis year.

T#o months after Tina Fontaines vigil, almost to the day, Winnipeg elected o#manmayor. Just before his official s#earing-in, on *ov. >, o#man made a last-minute

addition to his speech. +e chose to open by ac$no#ledging that council had gathered)on Treaty 7 land, and in the traditional territory of the 2etis *ation,' a simple, butdeeply moving nod.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXJOQYxxV2Yhttp://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/hockey/jets/north-end-kids-take-to-ice-201884901.htmlhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXJOQYxxV2Yhttp://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/hockey/jets/north-end-kids-take-to-ice-201884901.html


18/19

Photograph by John Woods&t has become tradition when deli(ering a speech in 0ancou(er to acknowledge and gi(e thanks

to the Coast alish, whose traditional territories co(er the city2 but this had ne(er been done at

Winnipeg City /all before% .he incoming mayor, a 7ets fan who arri(ed in office with little but

a game-used $ark cheifele stick 3he was scared his kids were going to put it through theli(ing room window if he left it at home5 was uncharacteristically emotional and choked up

deli(ering the message%

see a real opportunity right no#0#ith the level of engagement over these veryserious and difficult issues0to ma$e a difference,' o#man told 2acleans. )f my o#nfamilys heritage can assist in building bridges in various communities in Winnipeg,then thats an opportunity fully intend on leveraging. #ant to do everything can.'

month later, on ec. ;, the citys police chief, evon %lunis, delivered moresurprising remar$s, calling on Winnipeggers to engage in a )difficult' conversation onthe citys ethnic divide. +e as$ed residents to recogni4e #hite privilege, suggestingtheir )affluence' resulted from historic ine:uity. )/ome people simply feel indigenouspeople choose to be a drun$ on 2ain /treet or they choose to be involved in the se9trade. *o. We need to have those specific conversations0and try to understand #hythose individuals are living in those conditions.'


19/19

To Jamie Wilson, after Tina Fontaines death it #as li$e )you couldnt deny itanymore'0the racism, all the problems. +e believes Winnipeg has begun confrontingthese head-on. )6ight no#, #ere stuc$ in a trap. Were going to have to ac$no#ledgeit. !r it #ill forever hold us bac$.'

Tina did this,' says Thelma Favel. )Tina opened even the governments eyes. t had tota$e my baby to die for people to reali4e there #as a problem0and there still is.'

welcome to winnipeg where canada’s racism problem is at its worst

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