by Emmet Matheson
the Carillon

ast Tuesday, March 21, was the 35th annual International Day for the Elimination of Racism.

While there was little to mark the day in Regina, racism as an issue facing society has been front and centre in the provincial dialogue in the first half of 2000.

From Saskatoon-Humboldt Reform MP Jim Pankiwıs criticism of employment initiatives at the University of Saskatchewan to allegations of Saskatoon police officers murdering two aboriginal men, Saskatchewanıs race relations issues have become frequent national headlines.

March 15ıs International Day Against Police Brutality held weighted meaning this year in light of the deaths of Lawrence Wegner and Rodney Naistus locally, as well as the acquittal of the four New York City police officers who shot an unarmed Amadou Diallo 41 times. While some marches commemorating the day became violent in themselves, as in Montreal, Reginaıs march, organised by the Saskatchewan Coalition Against Racism (SCAR) was peacefully attended by between 100 and 200 people, including several police officers.

Ron Hoenes, Executive Director of SCAR and sessional teacher at the Saskatchewan Indian Federated College (SIFC), says that in Saskatchewan racism takes many forms, from the outright murder of First Nations people to more ³sophisticated² forms, like discriminatory hiring practices and paternalism towards immigrants, to personal racism of individuals avoiding interaction with people of different skin pigmentations.

³The concept of race is not too old,² says Hoenes, ³it has been a political and economic concept for operations for 150 or 200 years. Racism comes from Colonialism, from Imperialism, certainly by denying the humanity of other groups and exploiting them.

³SCAR believes that there is only one race: the human race.²

A recent editorial in Reginaıs daily newspaper claims that the term ³racism² is being overused and suggests that accusations of racism are holding back ³a stronger, more cohesive society.²

SCAR disagrees, ³This is a racist comment. If you donıt want to understand that we are equal, that we have to respect each other, then youıre being racist. We believe that this editorial was very disgraceful. It (the term Œracismı) is not being used enough.²

Hoenes says that through its many community workshops SCAR sees evidence that racism runs very deep in Saskatchewan. ³Everybody knows that there is discrimination and bigotry against minorities, sometimes numerical minorities and sometimes political and economical minorities. There are places where native people are the majority. Guatemala for example has 70% Native people. But they donıt have equal opportunities.²

Globally, Saskatchewan fares very badly in terms of racism, with Natives making up the majority of inmates in our prison system and being vastly under-represented in our education system.

³The justice system, by itself, is racist, but the administration of justice is racist too,² says Hoenes.

Hoenes praises SIFC for ³excellent Native academics² but finds that at the same time immigrants, particularly from Third World Countries, can experience many difficulties in having their degrees recognised in Canada. Often universities hire immigrants only on a temporary basis, which means they miss out on benefits like pensions and job security.

³Everybody needs education about racism,² says Hoenes about the workshops that SCAR frequently conducts, ³but for us, the younger people are more important because they are constructing their own world. We work as a coalition, we work with the Human Rights Commission, with the Ombudsman, even sometimes with the police, with anti-poverty groups, with social development groups, with whoever needs us.

³The most important goal is education. We feel very rewarded and refreshed when we talk with children and teenagers. We see that there is no racism when they are young, but when they grow up [non-whites] donıt have the same opportunities.

³One of the landmarks of Saskatchewan is SIFC. Itıs amazing that we need an institution like the Indian Federated College, but the Indians didnıt feel very welcome in the older university environment. In other countries, be you Native or not, you are welcome, and people feel okay. There is a history that demonstrates that Native people are more successful at SIFC because we have incorporated some cultural and spiritual elements, and I hope that in the future, some technological and scientific elements. The contributions of Native people to science and technology are marvelous.²

While Saskatchewan still has a long way to go to achieve true racial equality, Hoenes is optimistic about the future, ³I cannot lose my hope in humanity. I think that the majority of humans are conscious of what is happening in the world. We are going to witness very dramatic changes in the world.²

Kent Brunskill, Director of the Police College at the U of R, is hopeful too. Police trainees in the Basic Recruit Training Program currently receive 18 hours of Direct Cultural Training. They also get continuing courses on race relations, human behaviour, and communication skills so that when they are on the streets, upholding justice, officers will be better equipped to understand.

The curriculum for police training is frequently reviewed and revised to prevent the sort of atrocities alleged of members of the Saskatoon Police Service. Even once officers are actively policing they are required to return for ongoing classes where, Brunskill says, ³officers are asked to evaluate their own beliefs and culture.²

While education does play a growing important role in the elimination of racism, Brunskill concedes that there may always be decidedly racist people in policing, ³You can train all you want, but whether you change anyone...

"For all Canadians, I think itıs important that we try to understand each other. We all have to live here together.²