Treaty Relations

trcm.ca 23 THANK YOU toallourpartners foryourcontinued supportand commitmenttoour community InternationalWirelessCommunications Chudd'sChrysler BillinkoffManagementLtd. LannySilverAtchitect T he headlines were ugly. but rather than protest when Maclean's Magazine named Winnipeg the most racist city in Canada, city officials decided to do something about it. Within two hours of reading the article, Mayor Brian Bowman had convened a press conference with city councillors, university officials and Aboriginal leaders including former National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations Ovide Mercredi, Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Grand Chief Derek Nepinak and Treaty Commissioner of Manitoba James Wilson. The conference was followed by a smudge ceremony and a commitment to face the problem head-on. "This was a real opportunity for Winnipeg to take leadership. The news conference was a positive first step. There seems to be renewed support for Treaty education and urban reserves," Wilson said. "It's been good. People are starting to have a dialogue and realize we have to take this seriously and do something." Within a week, the City of Winnipeg launched a new website. Bowman said 1Winnipeg.ca is intended to continue the dialogue. "We hope the website will generate ideas of how we can collaborate and solve some of these issues," he said. "We don't have any illusions that we can end racism, but everyone has a role to play. We need to have greater tolerance and respect for each other." Winnipeg Police Services also took a leadership role. Police Chief Devon Clunis met with the Treaty 1 Chiefs and sent his staff to communities. "They built some bridges and created friendships," Wilson said. "These things don't need to cost money. They just take commitment." While the Maclean's article was upsetting, Bowman said he was well aware of the city's racism problem. "We started dealing with some of these issues from the moment I was sworn in. It was really difficult to look away from the stories in the article, but Winnipeg is well positioned to work together," he said. "The response has been overwhelmingly positive, both from our community and nationally." Bowman, who is Métis, was the first Winnipeg mayor to acknowledge Treaty 1 when he was sworn in, a powerful symbolic move that meant a lot to local Elders, Wilson said. In the recently tabled city budget, Bowman also proposed increasing funds for arts and building a foundation for the United Way's plan to end homelessness in the city. "We're committed to increasing education and training opportunities. That will help address some of the challenges we face with poverty in our community," Bowman said. "We also need to be a leader in Indigenous art and culture. I want our (Aboriginal population) to be increasingly looked at as a source of strength and pride." Councillor Jenny Gerbasi (Fort Rouge East Fort Garry) said the press conference was moving and inspiring. "It wasn't the denial kind of response that we often get. A lot of great people were within that room," she said. "A commitment was made to keep working on this, and that immediate action turned it into a positive response. It's an important step in dealing with this, and it was quite powerful. It affected a lot of people in the city." Bowman's response inspired many to offer assistance, including the mayors of Regina and Calgary, former Prime Minister Joe Clark and countless Winnipeggers, both Aboriginal and non- Aboriginal. More than 100 civic and national leaders have been invited to a press conference scheduled for Jan. 22, 2016 — a year to the day of the Maclean's story. At that time, Mayor Bowman plans to have plenty of success stories to share. ❚ A CAll TO ACTION RESPONSE TO RACIST LAbEL IS A POSITIvE STEP By Holli Moncrieff

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