Chief Isadore Day sends an open letter to federal Parliamentarians to end racism

Chief Isadore Day of Serpent River First Nation sent an open letter to federal Parliamentarians in February asking that a motion and private members Bill be brought forward to make April 12 an annual day for a National Dialogue on Ending Racism in Canada.

Currently, there is “no national strategy to deal with this malady,” reads the letter. “All citizens and visitors to this land deserve a society free from racism.” As a background, the letter notes that racism falls into five categories – biology, ideology, culture, structure and power. “It is highly suspected that these categories will have a role in coming to a clearer understanding as to why 1,181 Indigenous women and girls have [gone] missing or have tragically turned up dead in Canada.” The letter talks about Canada’s nation-building history, the Royal Proclamation of 1763 and Peace and Friendship Treaties, the British North America Act, 1867, the Canadian Constitution of 1982, the Indian Act of 1876 and “systemic policies, programs, imposed legislations and institutional violations that are characteristic of racism.”

A new narrative is an obvious goal, says the letter. “This would begin the important work of re-setting the relationship that is consistent with that of the Peace and Friendship Treaties, and ultimately bring a stronger nationwide focus on strategies to begin the arduous task of affecting the root causes of racism and its effects.” The letter will be carried to Parliament by Carol Hughes MP: NDP, Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing.