People took to the streets of North Battleford for the third annual March Out Racism walk on Thursday. (Angela Brown/battlefords NOW Staff)

By Angela Brown

Tackling discrimination

Community unites to stamp out racism

Mar 21, 2019 | 4:49 PM

Battlefords area residents and advocates joined in solidarity Thursday for the annual March Out Racism walk to recognize the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

About 30 supporters met at city hall to take part in the walk in North Battleford to raise awareness about the issue of racism in society. The procession travelled along Railway Avenue to the Battlefords Immigration Resource Centre (BIRC).

The walk was organized by the Battlefords Immigration Resource Centre partnering with the Multicultural Council of Saskatchewan.

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“It’s a reminder to people to keep their biases in check and realize that everybody has racism in them,” said BIRC Executive Director Annette McGovern. “If we keep it in check we’ll be able to get along perfectly.”

North Battleford’s Coun. Kent Lindgren read the city’s proclamation at the start of the event, declaring March 21 as the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. He reaffirmed the city’s “commitment to building safe, inclusive societies.”

Representatives from the BIRC, the Battlefords Agency Tribal Chiefs (BATC), the Battlefords RCMP, and the Battlefords Boys and Girls Club were among those participating in the event.

March Out Racism supporters gather at North Battleford City Hall Thursday. (Angela Brown/battlefords NOW Staff)

Community forum tackles tough topic

Activities in the Battlefords to recognize anti-racism week also included a Community Forum on Racism hosted by the Multicultural Council of Saskatchewan (MCoS) at the Don Ross CentreWednesday evening, with about 25 people in attendance. The event was part of the Truth and Reconciliation Action efforts.

MCoS Executive Director Rhonda Rosenberg talked about the importance of respecting diversity and working together to form a healthier community.

“Before we can get to healing we really need to sit in the discomfort of the truth of the kinds of racism that we have had in the past and that we’re still living today,” she told battlefordsNOW.

Rosenberg said people need to talk about what they can do to help eliminate racism, both as individuals and as a community.

Guest speakers Elder Sylvia Weenie, left, and her son Kirkland Weenie at the Community Forum on Racism, Wednesday. (Angela Brown/battlefords NOW Staff)

The forum highlighted that many people have been victims of racism, a problem that affects everyone in some way, said Rosenberg.

Among the speakers was Chizuru Kishida-Nelson. Originally from Japan, Kishida-Nelson said she experienced discrimination in the workforce as a newcomer and how she strived to overcome it.

Elder Sylvia Weenie, from Sweetgrass First Nation, talked about her struggle to regain her language and culture as a residential school system survivor.

She said following the event she hoped to spark some understanding between First Nations and non First Nations peoples, to open communications between them so they can learn from one another and “start accepting one another.”

“What we do today is going to reflect how our children and grandchildren are going to treat one another. So we need to be the ones that pave that road for them,” Weenie added. “It’s really, really needed, especially in this city because we are surrounded by several First Nations and we need to get along.”

angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW