It was as if the cork of a bottle popped off, and frustration, anger and pain came gushing out, when St. Paul’s Reunion Station held a Friday morning meeting on systemic racism. First Nations people stood to speak out, decried the experience of being written off as drunks, wiped away tears as they talked about their children being bullied in schools, and talked about ongoing segregation in St. Paul and area.
The meeting was held in response to reported instances of racism, with the Town of St. Paul hosting the meeting and inviting Saddle Lake’s Carl Quinn to act as the facilitator.
“These are things we face every day when we come to St. Paul,” said Saddle Lake Chief Eddie Makokis of racism and discrimination, speaking forcefully about how vital First Nations are to the community of St. Paul, spending what he described as $13 million annually in the town and keeping it alive.
“It hurts. As a leader it hurts me, and the rest of my leaders.”
He said that people of St. Paul may come and go, but the people of Saddle Lake, their children and grand-children, would always remain.
“You can’t get rid of us. You have to put up with us – we have to put up with you, in a very good way – we have to respect each other.”
Saddle Lake’s chief and council, First Nations people from surrounding areas and representatives from RCMP, St. Paul and Elk Point’s councils, the business community, and St. Paul Education Regional Division joined the circle in a wide-ranging two-hour discussion, which saw people from various backgrounds talk about the pain they felt every day seeing ongoing racism.
Saddle Lake elder Nancy Waskewitch gave a glimpse at the anger and pain that some First Nations feel, saying her experiences has caused a lot of hatred in her that she feels she can’t get past.
“I’m always angry towards white people,” she said. “I will not allow white people to step on me, because I feel this is our land. It’s been taken from us. I may be racist, but this is my feeling.”
She said she hears people talk about the money that goes to First Nations people, but put in, “You get the riches from our land – you ever think of that?”
Nods of agreement came from around the circle when she spoke of seeing racism, of seeing groups of First Nations and white people on the streets of St. Paul every year for the rodeo parade, and people always tossing candy to the whites rather than First Nations children. She asked how many First Nations teachers were employed in St. Paul division schools, noting many apply, and few are accepted.
“Native people don’t come first,” she said.
Waskewitch’s daughter-in-law Esther Large also spoke up, giving the perspective of a white woman who is married to a First Nations man.
She started by talking about her experience growing up in Germany, with her grandfather a Nazi officer; however, growing up, German children were taught extensively about genocide and discrimination against the Jews.
“We were taught not to accept it,” she said.
When she came to Canada, she said she was shocked after setting foot on a reserve, to see people in such an advanced, developed country living in such terrible conditions, with promises of clean running water and action on missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls continually broken.
However, she became most emotional about talking about seeing her First Nations husband watched in stores, to hide the fact that her husband is First Nations when looking for apartments to rent, or for him to be derided as “another drunk native,” when he hasn’t touched a drink in 30 years. However, she said when she asked him once about an incident she saw as discrimination, he just hung his head and said, “I don’t pay attention to it anymore.”
“That brokenness in him is what makes me really angry,” she said, her voice shaking with emotion. “That’s the reality native people live in.”
Michelle Bull of Whitefish Lake talked about attending Ashmont School, hearing insults like “Indian slut” hurled her way, and how she struggled with her experiences in school.
Right from a young age, First Nations face separateness, and are not encouraged to take higher level studies, she said, with others talking about disagreeing with schools coding their children simply to access more funding.
One of Bull’s biggest questions, however, is why the system enforces segregation, as she questioned why her neighbour’s children are picked up at 7:15 a.m. on a bus, and taken from the Ashmont area to Mallaig School.
“Logically, we should be altogether at Ashmont. Instead, we continue to be separated,” she said, putting in that she has chosen to have her children attend Vilna School instead.
Her experiences with racism have affected her schooling, her choices about work, past issues dealing with suicidal thoughts, and her self-worth, she said.
The younger generation deserved “freedom from this bullsh-- racist attitude,” she said, as she took her seat amidst applause.
Some spoke about the work happening to combat racism, with Town of St. Paul Coun. Judy Bogdan explaining that as a teacher working in Onchaminahos School, she sees herself as a “bridge” between the two communities. She pointed out the struggles that exist on both sides of the debate.
One First Nations child was not even allowed to talk to her because she was white, she noted. And while First Nations children may face labelling and coding, she said this was “not exclusive to the aboriginal people” with her nephew facing a similar situation. Bogdan pointed to the good work happening around bridging divides, such as the work of Reconciliation St. Paul, and urged people to “put aside hate and anger” to work together.
With much of the discussion focused around what young people were learning in schools and from fellow students around First Nations and regarding discriminatory attitudes, St. Paul Education Regional Division superintendent Glen Brodziak spoke up. He said he believed the stories being told, about experiences like First Nations customers being followed around in stores.
“I believe what you said to be absolutely true,” he said. “That shakes me, and makes me really reflect.”
He acknowledged there is racism in local schools, much as he wishes that wasn’t the case, and said he is committed to making this better, but feels, like others, that change could and would happen with the next generation.
“I think our younger generation is smarter and kinder, and there is hope.”
Facilitator Carl Quinn said he wished to see three things happen, moving past the meeting. Firstly, he asked the Town of St. Paul to voice publicly, “We do not condone racism. That is not a behavior or perception we accept.”
“We know we have racists, not just here in St. Paul, but in Saddle Lake too,” he said, adding that everyone needed to do the work together to raise their children better.
He also called for more action in the classroom to help students work together and treat each other better, and finally, asked for the councils of Saddle Lake and Town of St. Paul to walk together down the street, “denouncing racism and separatism.”
Mayor Glenn Andersen and County of St. Paul CAO Sheila Kitz both voiced their support and unequivocal denunciation of racism and hatred, and agreed to support future meetings.
A tentative date has already been set for the next meeting, with those gathered agreeing that a larger venue was needed and that the meetings could be moved from community to community to give others a chance to join in and be part of the discussion. The tentative date for the next meeting is Oct. 26, at 7 p.m., with further details to be announced.
More than one spoke on the need to keep the discussion going, and for people to leave the meeting with a sense of hope, rather than failure, with Saddle Lake’s Leonard Jackson saying –
“The flame’s been lit. I want it to burn. I want to see the flames burn racism right out of this place – it needs to happen.”
