Right-Wing Post: The Fight for Integrity in the Media

I am writing today to set the record straight about the most recent edition of the Right-Wing Post. John Ivison of the National Post called me this week and asked for an interview. He needed it urgently to fill meet his timeline for this past Saturday, July 14. While I was on the road and meeting with Chiefs, I agreed to take half an hour to assist him with his story. Apparently, that was an exercise in futility since he did not print a word I said.

The story he wrote is entitled: "The fight for the soul of the AFN" and can be found at this link:

http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2012/07/14/john-ivison-the-fight-for-the-soul-of-the-afn/

You'll notice that the first paragraph is an indication of his lack of knowledge about what actually transpired before, during and after what was called the "Crown-First Nation Gathering" (CFNG). First of all, the meeting was promised for many years and did not transpire until the crisis in Attawapiskat First Nation captured the media's attention and stayed in the media. The ONLY reason why Harper stayed at the meeting was due to the unrelenting criticism that he would only stay for the speech - not because of any pressure by National Chief Atleo - in fact, everyone but Atleo criticized Harper for his planned early exit.

Secondly, there was no "new" money given to First Nations for anything. In fact, after the CFNG, many Aboriginal organizations received funding cuts so severe, some had to close their doors. These funding cuts included cuts to the AFN. Any money that has been identified for emergencies like Attawapiskat or water has been taken from other programs and services for First Nations. The former Auditor General clearly highlighted in her reports how Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) has a habit of reporting one thing and doing another. Harper has long stated there will be no new money for First Nations - only "efficiencies".

Getting back to Ivison's article, I spent a great deal of time explaining to him my concerns, their origins and why I am running. Although I can't speak for what is going on in his head, he obviously did not like or understand my answers as he chose to take quotes from my old blogs to make his story sound more dramatic. To back up his right-wing slant on the story, he used the Frontier Centre for Public Policy - a right-wing think tank that can be counted on to support just about anything Harper.

The right-wing contingency in Canada has openly supported Atleo - from Conservative Senator Patrick Brazeau to many of the extremely right-wing media outlets like the Sun. My issue has never been whether they support Atleo, to each his own. My concern has always been their refusal to use facts in their "news" reporting and for their opinions. Anyone can have random opinions about anything, but when these commentators refuse to base it on facts, then it is hardly be considered analysis worthy of reading.

These guys are very clever, they can find ways to belittle or minimize individuals without saying it directly. Notice how they constantly refer to Atleo as having a Masters degree, but never refer to my 4 university degrees or address me as "Dr" instead of "Miss"? They refuse to capitalize the word "aboriginal" as if we are somehow less than other groups like "French" or "German". The fact that they even use the word "aboriginal" refuses to acknowledge my nationality as "Mi'kmaw" which is found in all of my websites, brochures and how I actually defined myself during our interview.

Even the quote he assigns to me is Ivison's quote - he is the one who asked me about the "extremely cordial" relations between Atleo and Harper where I explained that my issue is NOT with having a good relationship. In fact, I support respectful and mutually beneficial relations with Ottawa - but he never quoted my actual words. I specifically said that the idea is not to settle for just any relationship with Canada - but that I wanted one that was based on respect. This means Harper has to put some good faith on the table.

Ivison went on to challenge me saying how could I speak about respect for Canada when I refer to Harper as the devil. I told him that he needed to read my entire set of blogs to understand what I am referring to - Harper's aggressive assimilatory agenda towards First Nations and his blatant disregard for democracy and fundamental rights and freedoms valued by Canadians. I am not the only one who feels this way - at this point I believe most Canadians can see what is happening, especially since the two undemocratic omnibus bills: Bill C-10 and Bill C-38, show how Harper has replaced the voices of Canadians with his own agenda in a very dictatorial manner.

In addition, I never called Atleo a "devil". That is categorically false. The conversation was strictly related to Harper's assimilatory agenda. Atleo may be leading the AFN in the wrong direction in my opinion, but I have said all along this is not about Atleo as a person. I have met him several times and he seems to be very nice. I think most people who have met him consider him to be an extremely nice guy. After all, he is working at the AFN to better the lives of First Nations. It is not his personality that concerns me, it's his making deals with Harper without a corresponding mandate from the chiefs to do so, that concerns me. But this isn't just my analysis.

Chief Wallace Fox of Onion Lake First Nation in Saskatchewan wrote a letter to Atleo on July 10, 2012 specifically telling Atleo that "there is no place for you to have your own agenda" and he went on to cite "countless examples of AFN acting without any authority from the Chiefs". Chief Fox was very specific that this was not a personal issue, but instead highlighted the "danger" of he AFN "collaborating" with Harper to push the 1969 White Paper assimilation policy. Chief Fox is not the only one who feels this way. Many chiefs across the country can see the writing on the wall. These are the facts of what is happening here and Ivison ignored all of those to print a propaganda piece for Atleo.

If you read Ivison's entire piece you will understand exactly what the rest of us are talking about. Ivison quotes Atleo as describing himself as the head of the AFN engaged in "nation to nation" relations with Canada. This is precisely the problem - AFN is NOT a Nation, it's not a treaty holder or land owner, nor is it not a national government. Atleo cannot engage in Nation to Nation relations - only we as Indigenous Nations can do that. Only Treaty 1, Treaty 6, or Mi'kmaq, Maliseet or Anishinabek, etc can speak for their Nations. This is the fundamental issue here that Ivison and all the right-wing media ignores.

Ivison also failed to quote our conversation related to funding. He tried to get me to admit that my whole solution is more tax-payer's money. I explained to him that all the wealth in this country is made from First Nations lands and resources. Every single government, business or industry is 100% reliant on the ongoing theft of our lands and resources. It is a fundamental mischaracterization to say that band funding comes from tax-payers. If tax-payers have an issue with paying taxes - that is between them and their governments - we did not create capitalist forms of government.

Our issue is that this country's wealth is 100% reliant on our land and resources. When we demand a small fraction of that wealth back, we are accused of being dependent. The only government dependent here are the federal and provincial governments who could not sustain themselves without out our lands and resources. We, as First Nations, fund every single program, service, benefit, and government in this country NOT the other way around. I also explained that at a bare minimum, First Nation government transfer payments, should at least be on par with provincial governments. Right now we are chronically underfunded and the extreme poverty is the result.

This does not include the additional rights we have in relation to our lands and resources from our treaties and constitutional protections. When I spoke to Ivison I explained all of this in great detail - but he obviously didn't like what he heard as he printed his own version. I also gave him my ideas about how our governments can sustain themselves, but he felt no need to share any of that. Instead he boils it all down to gender and quotes an unnamed AFN watcher saying that chiefs will never vote for a woman. At each step the right-wing faction in Canada insult our chiefs. We have more female Chiefs and band councillors in Canada than the federal parliament has female MPs. If only reporters stuck to the facts, then we would not have all this negative stereotypes dominating the media.

Our chiefs are smart, many are deeply spiritual and most are in this to better the lives of our people. I believe in the collective wisdom of our people - they decided to who to put in as Chief, they decide the traditional or hereditary leaders and when the chiefs vote they will decide who will have their back for the next three years. This race was never about gender - it has always been about inspiring hope in our people and laying out a vision for the next three years. For me, this means being brave enough to stand up and admit when we are off track so we can turn this ship back around.

The right-wing media will do their best to maintain the status quo - because everyone else benefits from it but us. But we have the ability to see past their propaganda and lack of facts - we can do this. We have a momentum going now to get things back on track and we will set things right. We just have to stay focused on our sovereignty, our lands and treaties and our people and we can't go wrong. The choice at this election is not radical versus moderate or male versus female - the choice is status quo or taking a chance on fundamental change. The status quo is killing our people, I don't think we have much to lose by taking a chance on turning things around.

Eskan Racism - Bottled and Sourced in Canada for Over 500 Years

With the warming of the days that comes with summer and the positive effect a little vacation and relaxation has on many of us, I had hoped that the red necks would be able to take some time off as well. Yet, this latest advertisement for Eska Water is another testament to the fact that racism in Canada is an ongoing problem that doesn't just surface when there is tension or disagreement - but is, in fact, so embedded in some parts of the population that they themselves don't even recognize it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfNDFdZVDE8

Some of you may think that I am being too harsh and that none of the folks as Eaux Vives Canada Inc ever "intended" for anyone to take offence.

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/canada/native-group-wants-racist-water-ad-pulled-58789.html

Some of you might also feel that if any of us don't like the ad, we should simply refrain from watching it. Alternatively, it has been suggested that anyone who is offended by the ad should take solice in the fact that the ad was intended to be "funny" and not meant to represent any particular group.

Eaux Vives Canada has explained that they had no indication that anything in the ad might cause a problem - nothing to make them "suspect" an issue. In fact, Eaux Vives conducted a focus group of the local population and received "all positive feedback". They admit, however, that there may not have been any First Nations people included in that sample.

http://www.ctv.ca/generic/generated/static/business/article2089081.html

Eaux Vives Canada Inc is responsible for approving such an ad, so this reflects very poorly on their company, including those in the senior-most positions who make the decisions. However, one should also shine the spotlight on the ad's creators - KBS & P which stands for Kirshenbaum Bond Senecal and Partners.

http://www.kbsp.com/

They are owned by MDC Partners Inc. A company that specializes in marketing.

http://www.mdc-partners.com/#/agency/mdc_partners/2/about

You'll notice that KBS & P's bigger clients include Coke, Levis, North Face and Victoria's Secret. They work in the big leagues, so to speak, and either know better or should have known better. Further, for anyone who does any kind of advertising - be it print, television or online media - they all know or should know, the laws relating to discrimination, racism, hate crimes and limitations on free speech.

Its not like these companies do not have access to legal advisors, community relations experts and senior management-types to appropriately review and approve public ads. Afterall, these ads don't just sell products, they reflect on the character or lack thereof of the company and it's leaders.

That is why when the company's spokesperson, Gilles Corriveau said to the media that the company had "no intention to hurt people", he made the company look even worse. Anyone who studies anti-discrimination law knows that it is NOT the intention that counts - but the effect that it has on the person or groups offended. But more than that, big companies like Eska Water, KBS & P or MDC Partners cannot plead ignorance when they ALL have the resources, capacity and experience to know better.

I might also ad that there are no shortage of people that work in the area of human rights, anti-discrimination, anti-racism, and First Nations issues. Any number of people, groups, organizations or universities could have been consulted to provide input on any number of ads that has the potential to impact certain groups in society.

Let's pretend no such experts or advisors exist, is there any excuse for not googling the issue of racism in the media and making sure that your company is adequately aware of the issue? I googled the issue just now and tons of sources came up. Even the first source that popped up would have made the company think twice - had they taken the time to read it:

http://www.usask.ca/education/coursework/802papers/crawford/jamesc.html

The issue, sadly, is much deeper than that. The company itself indicated that it may have failed to include First Nations people in their focus sample, which amounts to more than a mere oversight - some might even call it incompetent.

There is no doubt that the company was trying to portray an Indigenous group, whether or not it was a fictional one. In so doing, they used stereotypes about what Indigenous people look and act like - neither of which were presented with accuracy, thoughtfulness or dignity.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSggKIAShbM

Indigenous people in Canada and indeed all over the world must fight the colonially-imposed requirement to be "authentic" or "pure" Indians. The stereotype includes the requirement to live and behave as this did at some arbitrary and distant point in pre-contact times. Real Indians wear feathers, paint their bodies and carry around spears, arrows and other weapons. Real Indians are primitive and fierce and seek only to make war with non-Indians. These stereotypes are not just promoted in the media, but are also promoted by right-wing academics and governments.

http://indigenousnationhood.blogspot.com/2011/03/no-natives-allowed-how-canada-breeds.html

In the Eaux Vives Eska water ad, we see the age-old stereotype of purity. The mixing of orange juice with water is portrayed as being an offence to maintaining the purity of the water. Colonial governments have been obsessed with defining Indigenous peoples in terms of "purity" both legally and politically. Even Canada, through the Indian Act and other laws and policies, tries to exclude from legal recognition any Indigenous person who is not a "pure" Indian - i.e., someone who is mixed Indian and non-Indian (water and orange juice).

http://www.vueweekly.com/front/story/blood_challenge/

This means that the public at large is constantly bombarded by these types messages and no consistent education about Indigenous realities in Canada. Even the omission of positive images of Indigenous peoples in the media serves to reinforce negative stereotypes. How often do you see an Indigenous woman consulted as a legal or political expert on the news, in the papers or in advertisements of any kind? What about Indigenous men as business analysts, foreign affairs experts or champions of human rights? We are led to believe that Aboriginal women are all victims of violence and Aboriginal men all corrupt leaders or criminals.

It is simply not enough to say, if you don't like the commercial don't watch it. Even if we could be with out children and youth 24-hours a day, the fact is they will eventually be exposed to these sorts of ads. However, what is worse is that Canadians will be exposed to these kinds of ads and thus these old stereotypes will continue to be reinforced and played out in relations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Canada.

Consider the situation where racist jokes are told to co-workers but not the Indigenous person in an office. This still has the effect of creating a hostile work environment for the Indigenous person. I would argue that ads like Eska Water helps create a hostile country for Indigenous peoples where we are seen as the savage terrorists as opposed to the First Peoples.

http://indigenousnationhood.blogspot.com/2011/05/from-savages-to-terrorists-justifying.html

We as Indigenous people already know, that none of these stereotypes reflect our wonderfully diverse and rich realities, ways of being and relations. We do indeed have many social issues created and perpetuated by colonial governments, like the inequities in funding for essential services, Canada's failure to live up to treaty and self-government obligations, the theft of our lands and the failure to share our resources with us - like water. Over 50% of First Nations in Canada have unsafe drinking water according to the Auditor General.

http://www.oag-bvg.gc.ca/internet/docs/parl_oag_201106_04_e.pdf

The very least Eaux Vives Canada should have done was issue an IMMEDIATE apology. The hiring of a public relations firm shows more concern for minimizing loss of profit than for the humanity of others. They don't need a meeting with First Nations leaders to know that the right thing to do is to pull the ad.

What an insult for Eaux Vives Canada to make such a mockery of Indigenous peoples and profit from OUR water sources while First Nations are denied access to this and other basic necessities of life. This water ad serves, ironically, to highlight the problem in ideology (racist ad) and in practice (lack of clean water for First Nations).

Racism has been ongoing in Canada for over 500 years since contact. It is time to acknowledge the problem and work towards addressing it.