The second day of Mayor Brian Bowman's summit on racism is underway and there are more complaints of exclusion.

Grand Chief Derek Nepinak is seen in January at a hastily-called press conference by Mayor Brian Bowman to address a Maclean's article on Winnipeg being racist. (CBC) This time, Grand Chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Derek Nepinak says his group has been left out. In a statement released Friday, he said "it is baffling to consider why we would be 'excluded' from a national discussion on 'racial inclusion.'"

Bowman organized One: The Mayor's National Summit on Racial Inclusion, which started Thursday at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, as a response to Maclean's magazine calling Winnipeg the most racist city in Canada.

Nepinak said it is difficult to understand why he and others from the First Nations community would be invited, at short notice, to stand in solidarity behind Bowman during a press conference to address the Maclean's article in January, but then be excluded from the summit.

"Despite having very little background about the intent of the mayor's press conference, I trusted the call in the spirit of building relations and stood with him and community leaders in the call for change," he said.

"It seems quite the paradox that the AMC would be one of the ones on the short list to call in support of the mayor's office to challenge racism, and then be excluded when the actual work of 'racial inclusion' begins."

Others have also criticized the summit for not being inclusive enough, for charging a fee to attend, and for favouring higher-profile guests, including author Joseph Boyden and Rev. Gerald Durley, a civil rights activist from the United States, over local community activists and organizers.

That prompted some activists to organize their own alternate summit on Thursday evening, which attracted hundreds of participants.

Previous Next

Statement from AMC Grand Chief Derek Nepinak

In recent months, the City of Winnipeg has been attempting to take a leadership role in addressing matters pertaining to the racism that exists in Winnipeg, the province of Manitoba and beyond.

This is a monumental task and would require careful considerations be made about who should be 'included' in a National Summit on 'Racial Inclusion'. The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC), Manitoba's largest Indigenous political advocacy & rights protection organization, was excluded from the invites to the Summit.

Although AMC has taken a concerted and focused approach on advocacy and rights protection over the past 4 years, throughout our 28 years of political leadership in Manitoba, current and former leadership of AMC have created several key connecting points for Manitoba's Indigenous peoples to access services and support throughout our ancestral lands.

Through our partnerships and businesses created over the past several years, the AMC sees thousands of people from Indigenous families utilizing our services through the Eagle Urban Transition Centre, accessing employment & training programs through our partner organizations, advocacy support for parents and families and a multitude of other supports and services for Indigenous peoples.

One of the greatest barriers that many Indigenous peoples face in accessing services, programs and supports is racism, and we are very well aware of the many instances of both explicit racism and the more subversive institutional racism that exists throughout society as we deal with it everyday through AMC's network of businesses and services. On this basis, it is baffling to consider why we would be 'excluded' from a national discussion on 'racial inclusion'.

Following the release of the Maclean's magazine article several months ago, myself and others from the community were called to support a short notice press conference and stand with the mayor. Despite having very little background about the intent of the mayor's press conference, I trusted the call in the spirit of building relations and stood with him and community leaders in the call for change. It seems quite the paradox that the AMC would be one of the ones on the short list to call in support of the Mayor's office to challenge racism, and then be excluded when the actual work of 'Racial inclusion' begins.

Hearts must be changed

An American pastor who is also a renowned civil rights activist, speaking at Friday's summit, commended Bowman for tackling racism head-on.

Gerald Durley, who spoke to a crowd of about 450 on Friday morning, said changing attitudes and changing hearts starts at the top.

"The person who is in power has the right to change that system and a conference like this forces us to get involved with those who are [in positions of] leadership and change our attitudes so that the system will change," he said.

"The system keeps us in bondage and powerless."

Durley spoke about being the target of racism in the U.S., saying the black movement fought back and over time has changed attitudes.

He believes the same can happen here with First Nations people.

"Differences are made not when laws are necessarily changed but when hearts are changed; when brains are challenged; when insights and attitudes reach another level," Durley said. "And you in this room, it all starts with only a few people."

Durley believes the summit will give Winnipeggers a new perspective on how to break down stereotypes and make real change.

The schedule of Friday's events is available on the summit's website.