Native leaders in U.S and Canada demand protections for Native youth, following "extraction service" advertisement
From Tracy Rector
Longhouse Media
http://www.longhousemedia.org/
SEATTLE
-- Longhouse Media Executive Director Tracy Rector today condemned the
illegal useof a copyrighted photo of three teenagers from the
Swinomish, Grand Ronde, and Lummi Tribes in Washington that was used in
a hate crime against First Nations and Native American youth.
“We
are appalled by the use of our image for such hateful and demeaning
purposes,” said Rector, responding to an advertisement that appeared on
a Canadian online news site. “The photo of the three adolescent boys
was taken from promotional material for our film March Point,an
award-winning documentary,” said Rector.
“The film was made with
three young filmmakers and tells the story of their coming of age
struggles in a Native American community in the U.S. That this image
would be used for such deviant ends is deeply hurtful to these young
men andtheir families, and to the Native community as a whole.”
The advertisement headlined "Free Native Extraction Service" was placed on the http://www.usedwinnipeg.com/website.
The website is managed by Victoria-based company called BlackPress.
They operate a network of websites (47 in total) under the
UsedEverywhere.com brand.
Referring to Native youth, it began: "Have
you ever had the experience of getting home to find those pesky little
buggers hanging outside your home, in the back alley or on the
corner???” It goes on to offer “free extraction services to relocate
them to their habitat,” and continues with other offensive remarks.
“We
condemn this as a hate crime, and will join with others to see the
perpetrators are brought to justice,” said Rector. “This ad could
intimidate and incite violence against indigenous youth in North
America, and we are joining with Manitoba Chiefs to call for an end to
hate crimes such as these. We must all stand together to protect our
youth.”
Chairman Brian Cladoosby of the Swinomish Indian Tribal
Community said, “We are saddened by the fact that some people still
harbor extreme hatred toward Native people as this advertisement
demonstrates. But we are also encouraged that many more people
recognize this as a racist attack on a generation of Native American
youth who for the most part are law-abiding citizens striving to
overcome generations of poverty and oppression, and live productive
lives. We hope that calmer heads prevail and that the individuals
responsible for posting this ad are prosecuted to the full extent of
the law.
"While not an act of physical violence, it is one of
intimidation and threat. According to the Criminal Code of Canada, "a
hate crime is committed to intimidate, harm or terrify not only a
person, but an entire group of people to which the victim belongs. The
victims are targeted for who they are, not because of anything they
have done. Hate crimes involve intimidation,harassment, physical force
or threat of physical force against a person, a family or a property." Section 319(1): Public Incitement of Hatred, Criminal Code of Canada
Author
and poet Sherman Alexie, a founding board member of Longhouse Media
from the Spokane and Coeur d'Alene Tribes also spoke out, saying, "As
much as the world has changed for indigenous people in good ways, there
are still many violent and hateful folks out there who seek to harm us,
and we must condemn them in print and in action, and we must do this
together."
Links at Longhouse Media:
http://www.longhousemedia.org/
