Aboriginal Human Rights Commission files complaint

The Aboriginal Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has taken a step to voice their objection to what they allege was a racist comment in a story by writer Ric Dolphin published by the Western Standard magazine.

The story was about Alberta Premier Ralph Klein stepping down as leader of the province's ruling Conservative party, and included comments about Klein's Metis wife, Colleen.

Dolphin quoted an unnamed source as saying "Once she stops being the premier's wife, she goes back to being just another Indian."

After the article was published Feb. 13, the AHRC held a press conference at City Hall to raise the issue of the quote.

The eight-year-old commission also lodged a written complaint with the Alberta Press Council late that month, "stating our objection to the racial statements made by Ric Dolphin," said Muriel Stanley Venne, chair of the commission, during a phone interview with Alberta Sweetgrass.
"We don't object to his right of free speech. We object to the racist comments. There are laws against inciting hatred against any identifiable racial group."

Colleen Wilson, chair of the Alberta Press Council (APC) told Sweetgrass that the council cannot act on the complaint from the AHRC.

"We can't do a thing about it," said Wilson. "We only hear complaints from our member newspapers. We don't hear complaints about magazines."

There are eight newspapers that are members of the APC, including the Calgary Herald. Dolphin was working for the Herald when he was censured by the press council in 2003 for anti-Native comments in columns he wrote for the publication.

Given the council's response, what is the AHRC's next move, Sweetgrass asked Stanley Venne.
"We just got an official letter from the Alberta Press Council, so we'll have to call our commission members together and decide what action to take," said Stanley Venne.

She said the commission is considering lodging a complaint with the Alberta Human Rights Commission.

On Feb. 22, a petition to support the efforts of the Aboriginal Human Rights Commission in this concern was launched. Stanley Venne said she intends to prepare the petition and submit it to Wilton Littlechild in the hopes that he will present it to the Fifth Session of the United Nations Permanent Forum this month at the New York headquarters of the United Nations.

Thirty-eight Aboriginal women who attended the Aboriginal Women's Professional Association seminar in late February signed the petition.
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Littlechild is a lawyer practicing mostly in international law. He is the United Nations North American representative at the Permanent Forum on Indigenous issues.

"I hope this brings to the attention of the world at this international forum that racism exists even at our highest level, which is the provincial government and it's something that we have to deal with," said Stanley Venne.

The AHRC is a project of the Institute for the Advancement of Aboriginal Women (IAAW). Stanley Venne explained that the AHRC was formed to have a body to assist, promote and help Aboriginal people get through the human rights system.

"On behalf of the Institute for the Advancement of Aboriginal Women this is our issue," said Stanley Venne. "This couldn't have been a more pertinent issue because Colleen Klein is our patron and to have her maligned in this article was just so offensive."

Stanley Venne said she wants, "all Aboriginal people to realize that we're all in this together. It's not an isolated incident by any means. This is happening on a daily basis and we have to deal with it. You would think that this was so unacceptable that nobody would dare do anything like this, but they (the Western Standard) are quite brash," she said.