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The following seven stories from the Sun Media highlight the challenges faced by Aboriginal people in Canadian society thanks to racist attitudes and systemic discrimination. The titles of these six stories that appear today in different Sun Media online news sites are:

• Borne the brunt - Aboriginals target of racism, stereotyping
• History lessons a textbook case of racism, Ottawan says
• Love ... and hate - 9/11's echoes and mixed bliss
• Canadians admit racist tendencies
• Natives say they get no respect - Cultural stereotyping rampant
• Aboriginal women gain job, life skills - The potential for profit
• 'Still a lot of racism' - But City of Edmonton trying to remove barriers for aboriginal people: expert

From http://winnipegsun.com/News/Canada/2007/01/15/3382356-sun.html

Borne the brunt - Aboriginals target of racism, stereotyping
By JOYANNE PURSAGA, STAFF REPORTER - Mon, January 15, 2007

As a teenager, he learned a brutal lesson about racism.

"We were sitting in a park and a bunch of non-aboriginal guys came and beat the hell out of us," recalled David Chartrand, president of the Manitoba Metis Federation. "At that time we found out the reason they beat us up was because we were a bunch of natives sitting in a park. Where does this hostility come from?"

Linda Simard faced similar hostility, although less overt, when her skin didn't match job interviewers' expectations.

"They would talk to me on the phone, but in person I could guarantee I wouldn't get a job. The enthusiasm just went away," said Simard, a 57-year-old Metis woman who has been looking for work the past two years. "I think it's a big problem for Metis people, unless the person can pass themselves off as white."

On this, Day 2 of a six-part Sun Media series on racism and tolerance, Chartrand and Simard's stories illustrate how Canada's aboriginal people have borne the brunt of prejudice through the years.
 
Poverty rates remain high in aboriginal communities, fueling social problems and feeding harmful stereotypes. The 2001 census found 32.5% of the country's aboriginal population had low-income status, compared with 27.2% of all visible minority people and 12.4% of the non-aboriginal population.

And while racism has become more subtle, it's still around, said Chartrand.

"A lot of times the colour of your skin and the way you're dressed leads people to come to conclusions quite quickly," said Chartrand.

He said tolerance is increasing but some stereotypes die hard.

"If you're aboriginal, you fall into these categories of welfare recipient and drug abuser. All these images flash into the eyes of the judge, without knowing the person," said Chartrand. "We're slowly clawing our way out of there, but it is slower than we expected."

He said education is the key to change.

"To combat racism, you have to build self-esteem in your people and ensure they feel equal in society," said Chartrand. "We need to understand and educate more."

Behind bars

One place where aboriginals aren't a minority is in many Canadian prisons. Wendy Whitecloud, a law professor specializing in aboriginal issues at the University of Manitoba, said aboriginal people are greatly over-represented behind bars.

Nationally, aboriginal people made up 2.7% of the Canadian population but account for 18.5% of the federal prison population, according to the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics. In Manitoba, aboriginals make up 70% of the total prisoner population, according to Statistics Canada. In Saskatchewan, that figure is a staggering 77%.

Whitecloud said such facts can trigger racist attitudes, when people fail to seek out the root causes of criminal acts.

"It's something that seems to be really ingrained in the West that aboriginal folks just don't have the respect of the larger community and stereotypes fit into that process," said Whitecloud.

Yet some aboriginal people believe the focus on racism would be better directed to address immediate social problems for the community.

"The issue of racism has gotten out of hand. It baffles me that we focus on that when we need to get our children to school and kids shouldn't be having kids. Those are things we should focus on rather than racism," said Madeline Hatch, an aboriginal Winnipegger.

Hatch said over-sensitivity can lead too many issues to be defined as racially motivated.

"A lot of times people yell out 'racism' when it has nothing to do with racism," said Hatch.

Hatch says people should stop focussing on racism and start addressing social problems affecting the aboriginal community.

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From http://ottsun.canoe.ca/News/National/2007/01/15/3382752-sun.html

History lessons a textbook case of racism, Ottawan says
By LAURA CZEKAJ, OTTAWA SUN - Mon, January 15, 2007

A young Jerry Lanouette learned about his Aboriginal ancestors in Ottawa schools from textbooks that called them "savages" and "killers."

"A lot of our textbooks taught us that Indians were savages and pagans and that we scalped settlers without provocation. That we went on war parties and burned and pillaged settlers' villages," recalled the now-46-year-old.

"But nowhere in the history textbooks do they mention how Aboriginal people actually saved the lives of many settlers and showed them how to live in the harsh climate and conditions."

It hasn't been that long since those overtly racist lessons were being taught in Ottawa and in cities across the country, Lanouette, who is the executive director of the Odawa Native Friendship Centre, pointed out yesterday.

"A lot of our so-called Baby Boomers are about my age, so they were also taught the same things through our education systems," he said. "So most of our policy-making and decision-making bureaucrats that are in government today are products of that era and that environment. So you wonder how much of that train of thought and perception is really deep-rooted in their beliefs and if their actions are affected."
 
Following the recent murder of Kelly Morriseau, a young Native woman who was found dead in Gatineau Park, Lanouette said, the media and the public seemed to focus more on the police comments about her possible involvement in prostitution than on the fact that she was a young woman whose death left her children motherless.

"To me, that's just going into that stereotypical approach of what a Native is," he said. "A lot of people see us as lazy, uneducated drunks with social issues."

But there is hope for the next generation to learn from mistakes made by their predecessors, said Lanouette.

"I think it's (the Aboriginal community's) responsibility to educate and raise awareness of Aboriginal people within mainstream society," he said. "But again, that's an arduous task without the proper resources."

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From http://www.ottawasun.com/News/National/2007/01/15/3382753-sun.html

Love ... and hate - 9/11's echoes and mixed bliss
By VIVIAN SONG, NATIONAL BUREAU - Mon, January 15, 2007
 
The news didn't come as a surprise but the expectation didn't dull the sting of the truth either.

When told that a Leger Marketing poll for Sun Media revealed that Canadians have the lowest opinion of the Arab community, Khaled Mouammar didn't pause or express alarm.

Instead there was a slight sigh of resignation as the president of the Canadian Arab Federation -- who is not Muslim -- launched into a frank dialogue on the state of Arab-Canadian relations.

"What you're saying confirms that when people have low esteem of an ethnic group, they're not going to hire them, or socialize with them," Mouammar said. "This is why young Arabs and Muslim youth are facing issues of low self-esteem, alienation and marginalization."

Little more than half of Canadians polled had a good opinion of the Arab community at 53%, while other groups received majority approval.
 
Mouammar pointed to a recent 2006 report from the Canadian Labour Congress that found unemployment rates were highest among Arab and West Asian populations in Canada at 14%, followed by Blacks at 11.5%.

His concerns were echoed by the executive director of the Canadian Race Relations Foundation, who also called for less talk and more implementation of antiracism legislation such as the Employment Equity Act.

"Canada on the surface has viable legislation that deals with racism but the implementation side is lacking," said Ayman Al-Yassini.

"Members of racialized groups are not getting jobs they're qualified to fill because of stereotyping."

The latest annual report out of the Canadian Human Rights Commission, in 2005, chastizes the public sector for continuing to underutilize visible minorities. They hold just 8.1% of all public sector jobs, while the private sector was applauded for its overall representation.

The stunning arrests of 17 terror suspects in Toronto last summer also brought the Anti-terrorism Act to the fore.

The act is an institutional form of discrimination, Mouammar charged.

"Instead of saying these are accused, alleged suspects, Prime Minister Stephen Harper congratulated the security forces. He really convicted them publicly before they were tried in courts."

But not everyone agrees.

"We demand that Charter rights be granted to all and that people be presumed innocent. But we don't think the Canadian government has acted contrary to that at all," said Munir Pervaiz, secretary of the Muslim Canadian Congress.

In fact, Pervaiz called on Muslim-Canadians to do their part in educating Canadians, saying that instead of showing the diversity of the Muslim world they've chosen to "Arabicize" themselves, feeding the confusion.

"It's our duty to let Canada know what the true face of a Muslim is. It's very diverse, multinational and comes from a community as diverse as Canada now -- the Far East, Turkey, North Africa, India, and Sri Lanka."

NOT TRUTHFUL

Meanwhile, 47% of Canadians may admit to being somewhat racist, but one expert questions if the 51% of people who believe they're not are being truthful to themselves.

"We may not see ourselves as racist but we all have some kinds of racist attitudes to some extent," said Tuula Heinonen, an associate professor at the University of Manitoba specializing in cross-cultural adaptation.

Respondents likely interpreted the label differently, she explained, with some linking "racist" with behaviour -- never having assaulted someone because of their race may be enough for some to shirk the label.

"I think it's a good thing to realize you might be racist and that maybe you should think about it," she said. "If people are willing to admit, they might be more willing to do something about it."

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Scott Young and Helen Kim, a mixed race couple, relax in their Toronto home with son Noah, 2. "Intermarrying is the last frontier in social integration." says Anne Millan, author of the 2004 report Mixed Unions.

It's called yellow fever.

A social phenomenon that describes the preference -- usually among men -- for Asian partners.

And it was precisely Scott Young's immunity to the "fever" that Helen Kim, a Canadian-Korean, felt drawn to him, she says laughing.

"Part of what attracted me to him was because he had never dated an Asian before," she says in her Toronto-area home with son Noah, 2, in her lap.

"There was no legacy of yellow fever here," Young jokes in return.

Theirs is becoming an increasingly common story in Canada where mixed unions are on the rise.

According to Statistics Canada, interracial couples made up 3%, or 452,000, of Canada's married or common-law couples in 2001 -- that's up 35% since 1991.

But while the majority of respondents had no problem dealing with a taxi driver, doctor, supervisor or neighbour of another ethnicity, their response was markedly different when asked how they would feel if their child were to intermarry.

Sixteen per cent say it would depend on the race, and 9% said they would react negatively.

"People in mixed unions tend to be younger, live in urban areas, and tend to be highly educated," said Anne Milan, senior analyst at StatsCan and author of the 2004 report titled Mixed Unions.

Experts attribute the rise to Canada's growing diversity.

And some sociologists, like University of Toronto professor Monica Boyd, describe the growing trend as a barometer of social tolerance since marriage is such a binding union between two separate identities.

"Intermarrying is the last frontier in social integration," she said. "It's an intimate fact that produces the next generation. It's one of the most important indicators of acceptance and integration into an ongoing social world."

SMALLER POOL

Milan's study found that the Japanese are the most likely to partner outside their group. The long Canadian heritage of the Japanese community partially explains why they have the highest proportion of mixed unions, Milan says. But unlike the Chinese and South Asians, who are among the least likely to intermarry, the Japanese also have a smaller pool of eligible partners within their own group to choose from, she added.

And what of the children born of these mixed unions? It's often said mixed babies make for beautiful children and Noah is no exception. His features are distinct, a hypnotic blend of Caucasian and Asian traits: Dark, round eyes set in almond hollows, soft chestnut hair and impossibly porcelain skin.

But if intermarriages result in mixed children, is there a fear of cultural and ethnic dilution?

"The only thing I'm more worried about is if he gravitates more towards one culture," Young said.

Noah is a bright young tot with a growing vocabulary -- an English one.

He is already well-versed in hockey jargon -- and deft with a stick-- but only recently learned from his grandmother how to count in Korean.

Kim likens Noah's mixed heritage to her own identity as a Canadian-Korean: She takes the best of both worlds.

"I'll sign him up for Korean lessons but I won't force him. Just how I'll sign him up for French and Spanish," Kim said.

She's already anticipated a scenario in which Noah will be forced to gaze back at himself.

"I asked Scott how he would handle it when Noah comes home crying because someone called him a Ch---," she said.

For now, Noah sits quietly in his mother's lap.

His parents, too, have fallen into a brief silence when asked if it would bother them were their adult son to come home with a partner of another race.

Kim comes back with a resounding "no," while Young offers a more cautious response.

"I have no issue with ethnicity. I have an issue with personality. If it's a culture that forces him to change and become different, we probably wouldn't want that. As long as he can make his own decisions."

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From http://www.ottawasun.com/News/National/2007/01/15/3382754-sun.html

Canadians admit racist tendencies
By KATHLEEN HARRIS, NATIONAL BUREAU - Mon, January 15, 2007

OTTAWA -- Shattering the myth of Canada as a colour-blind nation, nearly half of Canadians admit they're at least a bit racist, a startling Sun Media poll reveals.

The sweeping survey of attitudes toward immigrant ethnic communties, conducted by Leger Marketing, produced eyebrow-raising results by asking Canadians to take an honest look in the mirror.

While 51% insist they aren't at all racist, another 47% confess they harbour at least some racist views -- and that their prejudice is planted firmly at the door of Arab minorities.

"Canada prides itself on being an accepting country that is a number of different ethnic communities coming together, and obviously immigration is a big part of where we've come as a country," said Dave Scholz, vice-president of Leger Marketing.

"But , that being said, almost half of us still believe that there are some racist undertones within our behaviour."

Our bigotry doesn't evenly blanket all minority groups.

The survey found most Canadians hold a high opinion of Italian, Latin American, Asian, Jewish and Black communities, yet only 53% said they think well of members of the Arab community.

Those figures suggest a post-9/11 backlash that is unfairly tarring all Arabs with the same brush as the Taliban, Scholz said. They also reflect the power of media coverage and world affairs in shaping personal views of our neighbours at home.

"I find it worrisome that coverage could potentially lead the Canadian population to be prejudiced or racist against an entire group," he said.

The poll also shows that while most Canadians would vote for a prime minister from an ethnic group other than their own, 21% believe some races are more gifted than others. And while we're okay with a taxi driver, supervisor, doctor or neighbour who's of another race, we're ill at ease with the idea of our son or daughter entering a cross-cultural marriage.

"With politics, it's more about how you deal with people and who you are than about what ethnic community you come from. But when you start to personalize it ... then that's a different case," Scholz said.

REDNECK

The poll also proves Alberta's "redneck" image is undeserved, with 6% fewer people than the national average saying they hold some racist views. Ontarians are also less racist than most Canadians, while Prairie dwellers are 2% higher than the average.

Because Sun Media's Racial Tolerance Report was compiled through an online survey, Scholz said results are even more accurate than if carried out by other methods that provide less anonymity.

This online Leger Marketing poll, commissioned by Sun Media, surveyed a representative national sample of 3,092 adult Canadians between Dec. 27, 2006, and Jan. 5, 2007. Responses are considered accurate within plus or minus 1.8 percentage points 19 times out of 20.

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From http://torontosun.com/News/OtherNews/2007/01/15/3382689-sun.html

Natives say they get no respect - Cultural stereotyping rampant
By BRETT CLARKSON, TORONTO SUN - Mon, January 15, 2007

As the only aboriginal kid in school, Cynthia Wesley-Esquimaux was frequently called a "squaw" and a "darky" by the white children.

"I'm resilient, so I fought my way through it and I survived it," she recalls.

Growing up in a home fraught with alcoholism and violence, she dropped out of high school at 16, only to return to university and finally completing her PhD in anthropology in her 40s.

Now Wesley-Esquimaux teaches aboriginal history and culture courses at the University of Toronto and Laurentian University to students of all backgrounds.

She says younger aboriginals are only recently beginning to show signs the community is recovering from the cultural stereotypes promoted by Hollywood and the trauma of the residential schools suffered by the older generations.

"The aboriginal community is stereotyped as uneducated for the most part, and that's certainly an issue we're grappling with," Wesley-Esquimaux says. "You know, that they don't like to work, that they're lazy, that they work on 'Indian time', that they only come in when they feel like it. There's all kinds of biases and stereotypes."

Wesley-Esquimaux, who lives on the Georgina Island reserve in Lake Simcoe, said the sad scenes of native men staggering drunk on Toronto streets misleads the public to believe all aboriginals are alcoholics.

The reality is that most aboriginals are invisible to the mainstream population because they're too busy working and living like everybody else, she said. But the stereotypes still loom heavily.

"Because they're the only ones who are really visible, that's what people think Indians are," Wesley-Esquimaux says.

"And the reality is that alcoholism rates in a lot of communities are way, way down. This generation, who have pretty much begun the recovery process from the residential schools experience and a lot of that trauma, are just not drinking like that (anymore)," she said.

These days, Wesley-Esquimaux says, there's a heightened interest in the native community among both aboriginals and non-aboriginals. She also said she's rarely been the victim of any kind of racism in Toronto during her adult years.

Still, the community knows that great social challenges still exist and that poverty rates remain high. The 2001 census found 32.5% of the country's aboriginal population had low-income status, compared with 27.2% of all visible minorities and 12.4% of the non-aboriginal population.

STILL HAS OBSTACLES

And even if tolerance and education are on the rise, racism towards native people is still out there, even if it's subconscious, Wesley-Esquimaux says.

"If you're obviously, identifiably native, if your hair is long, people will have a tendency, whether they're conscious of it or not, to equate that with something in their own unconscious, their own biases," she says.

Wendy Whitecloud, a University of Manitoba law professor specializing in aboriginal issues, says the aboriginal community still has obstacles to overcome.

"It's something that's really ingrained in the West that aboriginal folks just don't have the respect of the larger community, and stereotypes fit into that process," Whitecloud says.

Wesley-Esquimaux says public stand-offs like the Caledonia conflict are frustrating to the community because it wants the federal government to step in and help resolve the situation in a positive way.

PAST INJUSTICES

She added there's some resentment in the community towards various levels of government for past injustices, and also because of the recent Caledonia and Deseronto land claim disputes.

Aboriginals need to rise above this resentment and sense of victimization, Wesley-Eaquimaux says. The community needs to foster a sense of pride in itself if it's going to overcome the social challenges it still faces, she said.

"Aboriginal people need to see themselves as victors, not victims," Wesley-Esquimaux says.

"Because they're still here in 2007... They've retained their cultures and spiritual values, and they did that in spite of so many different kinds of efforts, legislation, laws, and attempts to take it all away from them."

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From http://winnipegsun.com/Business/2007/01/15/3382345-sun.html

Aboriginal women gain job, life skills - The potential for profit
By JOYANNE PURSAGA, STAFF REPORTER - Mon, January 15, 2007
 
Two years into a fruitless job hunt, Linda Simard feared her working life was over.

Simard had held a job through most of her adult life, but after losing an office position, she was forced to collect welfare.

"I was feeling down because I couldn't get hired," said the 57-year-old Metis woman. "I felt like giving up."

Fast forward to today and Simard is preparing to launch her own business.

The recent graduate of the Self Employment Program for Aboriginal Women (SEPAW), offered at Ka Ni Kanichihk Inc., an aboriginal support centre in Winnipeg, hopes to launch a full-time cleaning and organization service within the next few months.

She said the program allowed her to see the profit potential in her own tidy habits.

SELF-SUSTAINING

"You don't always see yourself in a positive way when you're not working," said Simard.

Only low-income aboriginal women living in the Winnipeg area are eligible for the program. It aims to teach students how to start their own business and become self-sustaining.

The next course will last 21 weeks. It begins Feb. 5. The process includes life skills training and a 15-week period to develop a business plan.

Information sessions for applicants will be held Jan. 17 and 24 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the McDermot Avenue centre.

Ka Ni Kanichihk's executive director Leslie Spillett said the program offers a unique focus.

"Right now, we are the only self-employment program that focuses on aboriginal self-employment in Winnipeg," said Spillett. "We found current programs didn't seem to stay connected to aboriginal people in the same way."

Spillett said SEPAW allows women to learn in a space that adheres to aboriginal culture. A sacred area, for example, allows women to practice traditional tobacco ceremonies and prayer.

"Everything we teach centres around aboriginal methods," added Sharon McIlraith, the program's manager, noting the course includes an overview on First Nations and Metis culture.

The program is funded by grants through Service Canada, a federal government department, and is provided free to participants.

Spillett said the program teaches women to discover their full potential.

"A lot of women have a natural skill, so they need the ability to get someone to pay for this labour," said Spillett. "It's to get people to understand their life experiences can be turned into something positive."

The six participants who completed the last round of classes are now preparing to launch businesses in crafts, catering and fashion design.

Each will have financial support from social assistance for one year following the program's completion to allow them to invest in their businesses.

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From http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Edmonton/2007/01/15/3382542-sun.html

'Still a lot of racism' - But City of Edmonton trying to remove barriers for aboriginal people: expert
By AJAY BHARDWAJ, EDMONTON SUN - Mon, January 15, 2007

Lewis Cardinal has heard all of the stereotypes about aboriginal people.

They're lazy, uneducated, unemployed, can't hold down a job and usually have criminal records.

He shakes his head.

"Over 70% are employed," he says.

Nonetheless, Cardinal, an aboriginal consultant who worked on the Edmonton Urban Aboriginal Accord, says racism towards aboriginal people is just as prevalent now as it was years ago.

"I still experience it today," said the 44-year-old PhD student who hails from Sucker Creek First Nation in northern Alberta.

"There's still a lot of racism. I take calls from people who've been turned down for apartments. They'll go to get a place and soon as they there, they'll say it's taken."

As part of the second day of a week-long series on racism, the Sun turns its attention to the prejudice aboriginal people face.

Cardinal and Muriel Stanley-Venne, president of the Institute for the Advancement of Aboriginal Women, say racism towards Canada's indigenous people has been ingrained over generations of government policy.

"Aboriginal people have had very few rights," said Stanley-Venne.

"All the discriminatory things that have happened, happened because of government legislation.

"How do you fight the government?"

The systemic discrimination includes an education that has taught students little about aboriginal history, philosophy and ways of life, said Cardinal.

"People don't know who we are," he said.

Poverty rates remain high in aboriginal communities, fuelling social problems and feeding harmful stereotypes.

The 2001 census found 32.5% of the country's aboriginal population had low-income status, compared with 27.2% of all visible minority people and 12.4% of the non-aboriginal population.

Yet some aboriginal people believe the focus on racism would be better directed to address immediate social problems for the community.

"The issue of racism has gotten out of hand. It baffles me that we focus on that when we need to get our children to school and kids shouldn't be having kids. Those are things we should focus on rather than racism," said Madeline Hatch, an aboriginal from Winnipeg.

Hatch said over-sensitivity can lead to many issues to be defined as racially motivated.

"A lot of times people yell out 'racism' when it has nothing to do with racism," said Hatch.

And there's hope.

In 2004, the city established the Edmonton Urban Aboriginal Accord Initiative to make the city known as a place that "welcomes, supports and embraces aboriginal contributions toward Edmonton's culture and economy."

"It's an earnest attempt by the City of Edmonton to remove barriers," said Cardinal.

"It's a document about relationships and how you create relationships."

The accord sets the stage to talk about issues of the past and move towards correcting them, said Cardinal.

"We need to do something to bring down these barriers. The way you start to correct historical injustices is to give people a place to come talk about the issues."