Needs assessment suggests racism overt in city
By Lethbridge Herald on March 20, 2024.
A woman carrying a duffel bag walks with a bicycle past a display at a jewelry store downtown on Wednesday. A report on an Indigenous women's emergency shelter needs assessment will be presented this afternoon to the Safety and Social Standing Policy committee of Lethbrige city council.
Herald photo by Al BeeberAl Beeber – LETHBRIDGE HERALD – abeeber@lethbridgeherald.com
The final report of an Indigenous womens emergency shelter needs assessment, to be addressed at today’s Safety and Social Standing Policy Committee of Lethbridge city council, paints a dark portrait of the local political structure.
The report, to be presented by Gabrielle Weasel Head and submitted by Indigenous Relations Specialist Echo Nowak is an indepth look at issues impacting Indigenous women in the community.
In February of 2022, the City contracted Blackfoot researcher Gabrielle Weasel Head-Lindstrom to undertake a needs assessment using a mixed methods research approach to equip the City with adequate data to place it in a strong advocacy position. The final report was submitted to the City in in December of 2022 by the Lethbridge Indigenous Relations Office. Last December, that office, through Weasel Head completed an Indigenous Women’s Emergency Shelter Needs Assessment.
A total of 14 organizations were engaged in the assessment including Lethbridge Police Service – Neighbourhood Watch, Blood Tribe Women’s Wellness, Alpha House, Indigenous Recovery Coach Program, YWCA of Lethbridge, Streets Alive and Lethbridge Sage Clan Patrol among others.
The 53-page assessment – which can be viewed online at https://agendas.lethbridge.ca – covers many topics, among them being Lethbridge-specific barriers.
The report says what works in cities such as Calgary won’t work here with the majority of conversations with assessment participants showing they “identified a lack of collaboration and coordinated efforts among shelter services and other municipal agencies in arriving at effective and humane ways of addressing the needs of Indigenous women facing homelessness and associated barriers. Indeed, as we were conducting this study, we found a lack of support from the local emergency women’s shelter in Lethbridge and the nearby town of Taber which was made evident through a refusal to engage with us,” says the report.
It also cites a lack of Indigenous representation in leadership positions within municipal government which intensifies politics as a barrier to properly dealing with the homeless situation due to an absence of Indigenous people with lived experience at municipal meetings.
“Essentially, some participants felt city politics translated to a group of settlers dictating policies that directly affect Indigenous people. Indeed, others blatantly accused racist politicians within city council as hindering progress and identified the real problem as racism within the city council,” notes the report.
It adds that in the perspective of participants in the assessment who aren’t from Lethbridge is that racism here is “overt, socially acceptable and normalized.
“According to some participants, racism has only gotten worse over time and the Lethbridge city council only listens to the wants of the settler population who are not affected by homelessness,” says the report adding that the size of shelters is inadequate to meet needs.
“The City of Lethbridge leadership is unsupportive of Indigenous partnerships and does not collaborate with Indigenous groups such as Sage Clan. Instead, one participant felt that the City takes ideas from Sage Clan and try to implement programs on their own with little if any Indigenous involvement, even though Indigenous people make up the bulk of cases,” says the report citing Neighbourhood Watch as an example.
The report also says the shelter system can do more to support cultural programming with participants pointing out “there was minimal incorporation of Indigenous culture and traditional healing. Others shared that Indigenous women should be a top priority for shelter services because they are the most vulnerable and largest group on the streets but to meet their needs, the connection to culture is critical to healing.”
The report adds participants feel any new shelter stuff must be trained to deal with addictions – and different types of addictions.
The report states that collaboration with Indigenous-led shelter organizations “requires that non-Indigenous people accept that they have something to learn from Indigenous organizations. Non-Indigenous people must relinquish control and listen to Indigenous voices.”
It says that the City needs to pay more respect to the homeless population and that humility is required to work effectively with Indigenous people and health professionals to provide exceptional care.
Findings of the report also demonstrate an under-representation of Indigenous people employed in the emergency womens’ shelter system and Lethbridge shelter “e despite an overrepresentation of Indigenous women accessing shelters. There is a general lack of Indigenous inclusion and a dire need for shelter service providers to include a greater degree of Indigenous culture.”
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“Essentially, some participants felt city politics translated to a group of settlers dictating policies that directly affect Indigenous people. Indeed, others blatantly accused racist politicians within city council as hindering progress and identified the real problem as racism within the city council,” notes the report.
So is the thought process here to insult all Canadians and then ask for help? I support all Indigenous assistance but these kind of statements don’t help a “racist” transition, perhaps you should have considered that?
That has to be one of the most insulting statements I have read in the Lethbridge Herald, it exceeds even my own insulting statements 10 fold! It is repeated further down the article so it was not a phrase uttered by mistake.
“A group of settlers”? Really? the knee jerk response would be as bad but I won’t utter it!
“Racism in City Council” I feel badly for our City Council because I personally do not think they have a Racist bone in their bodies, but this could rile them with ease!
Not really sure what to say, normally I can work around a Hot Zinger and spin it, but this spins as bad as it seems with no way out!
I find this summation eye opening and truly distressing! It is unfair, cruel, unjustified, and undeserving! Not sure I want to read the entire report, I already have heart issues!
PS This should be filed under “How to win friends and influence people”
Signed
74 year old settler
I find Weasel Heads report offensive and shows that as much as society has done to help the First Nations, we are still just a bunch of racist Colonialists in her eyes. Your report and comments will only push reconciliation further away!
Where to start, there is so much to say about this! How about the First Nations grow up and start taking responsibiity for their own actions and consequences? No other nation in this world gives any of their Indigenous the social and financial supports that Canada does! NONE!
People and businesses are tired of seeing their parks, neighbourhoods and downtown turned into slums by graffiti, filth and constant open drug use perpetrated mostly by First Nations. Businesses have lost their livelihoods and many had revenues reduced. They see the First Nations on our streets committing all these crimes and destroying the city they once loved and are getting angry because it is costing them!
The federal government, in several disbursements in the last several years have paid out or is in the process of paying out over $70 billion for the residential schools, child welfare issues, and other mistakes society made in trying to help these people have a better live, but was found to be wrong as everything us Colonialists do when we try to help, not to mention the $25 billion that is paid out by the federal government and provincial government to support them, which includes their monthly treaty checks.
The treaties were signed, good or bad back in the 1870’s and were a binding agreement. It is evident they were bad for both sides!
Nothing seems to ever be good enough for you! Why are so many of your young on our streets? Why do so many have stories of being sexually abused by their families? No one can fix a problem until they acknowledge they have a problem and want to fix it. Instead you continue to blame everyone else, instead of taking responsibility for your own actions and dealing with them. You allowed crime and corruption to flourish in your communities, and when police tried to help, they met a wall of silence, so they couldn’t help!
We are all getting tired of seeing billions being poured into a thankless cause!
I am opposed to Sage Clan being on our streets, especially after one of their leaders stated that we are all a bunch of colonialists Lethbridge is on their land. He has continued to make racist statements. It is not out fault that you banish all your troublemakers from your communities and they end up here on our streets.
Many our our ancestors built this city, build up businesses that pay taxes that paid for your supports and continue to pay at a high costs.
This is our land the city sits on!
It is not stolen land! Your leadership made agreements that they saw fair back then and many of your other leaders continued to make variances to those treaties as time passed.
This city even added an Indigenous relations department in city hall, with several staff members and has collaborated with other governments to built Indigenous housing projects, one was announced about a year ago.
There is no money tree! This all comes out of taxpayers pockets, their bank accounts!
I am tired of getting beat up from the mistakes of the past, which between parties on both sides who are not even alive now!
Grow up and start taking responsibility and acknowledge your actions, your issues in your homes, your brainwashing your children that we are all a bunch of colonialists who stole your land, just might be why you suffer in so many ways! It all starts in the home, your homes in your communities!
You are not going to help yourselves or your people by constantly attacking us and calling us names and for me, the biggest racists on the our streets are First Nations. Stop trying to force yourselves on others and allow a relationship to grow!
This city is on the right track to resolving the issues on our streets, and you are only making their job worse by such comments. They have gone far and beyond other communities in their collaboration with First Nations and the Shelter is only one of many examples!
Ah, the fantastic fourteen. How to create division and bully your way to more. Not the best road to reconciliation.
WRONG!
Arrogant, privileged, stupid, and extremely racist. You must be what the report was about!
You might want to take off your rose coloured glasses, your trope is a reinforcement of colonization.. ” take responsibility for your actions”
Ah, yes, actions in response to ongoing colonization, systemic racism and oppression. I can see why your feathers are ruffled settler.
This article is way more harmful then helpful to Everyone. The ‘blame game’ is getting Very old and lame. Canada and other countries are trying their best to make restitute of their part in a horrible past for this culture which many of us knew little about, nor still don’t know. All I know, it is a black cloud in our history, one that hopefully will Never be allowed to happen again. That is, if the Indigenous don’t allow it to happen. Canada alone has spent over 30 billion dollars! to ‘social service groups’ who ‘say’ they are dedicated to ending homelessness. Yet, we see how this is going… the numbers are increasing, non-profits are making a huge profit and not many people are healing. This tells me that waiting for others to fix the problems with money, money and more money is not helping! When will the word ‘self-responsibility’ become part of the Indigenous dictionary? It’s only Then when the healing will begin. Before the horrible residential schools were brought in, Indigenous peoples were already suffering from starvation, alcoholism and disease. We Know the residential schools were Not the answer. So here we are today; have a beautiful chance to say, Well, what would have we done differently? And do it! What would have been the answer of yesteryear? Is it their own ‘current’ Council’s belief that the answer is the ‘out of sight, out of mind’ and to be rid of their youth who have issues, only for the ‘white man’ to heal? Where the Indigenous Rich become richer, and the Poorer poorer? Until the people on the reserves Speak Up and protect their youth of today, absolutely nothing will change tomorrow. Look at how You can help, and not what your expectations of others are… As any expectation, is a resentment waiting to happen.
I agree with you, this report will do more harm than good.
Change needs to happen on the Indigneous communities themselves if there is going to be any hope and that begins right in the home. We used to say a strong country begins in the home. What happens in that home dictates the impact on the community.
We are not going to get anywhere by attacking each other for things we cannot change in the past. We can stop blaming each other and working together to solve the issues. Alvin Mills has a good spirit and has done some good work trying to save his people and you wouldn’t hear him make such comments as in this report which seems to be very focused on one outcome, instead of truth. This truly will negatively impact Reconciiation.
Reconciliation used to mean, realizing the wrong, speaking about the wrongs and coming together to forgive and then forget and move on in peace. Somehow that has been twisted and even dictionaries have changed the definition.
I have seen this city move in directions that to end the needless deaths on our streets in multiple ways and build better relationships with our Indigenous peoples and it is evident with tangible proof in many areas.
Seeing the damage to our city caused for the most part by Indigenous from their addiction issues and their lawlessness has not been a good way to gain support for Reconciliation, and thousands have been impacted. There is anger towards the offenders and many unfortunately blame all Indigenous peoples, which is wrong. My best friend was Indigenous, but died of cancer in his 60’s.
Chief Clarence Louie has proven how the Indigenous can succeed under the right leadership.
He turned his community which was in a dry area of BC, in Ossoyoos into a paradise with hotels and spas and a successful winery, and made his band wealthy and disproved many other band theories that such have sucked them into the abyss.
Leadership is key and a willingness to move on! The Kainai have rich land with great potential for their people, yet they lease it out to non-indigenous, while many of their young people could be working the land, building up their self esteem and moving forward. Unemployment in any nation breeds high addiction rates, crime, domestic violence and early deaths. Many who have left their communities and are working have higher self esteem, as do those who have jobs in their communities.
I am tired of seeing the needless deaths on our streets and our leadership is moving the direction to end that. They have watched what the failed policies have done to BC and to communities and are being innovative, with the encampment strategy being the first step and ending the loitering and open drug use on our streets the next step.
Ending the carnage on our streets will reduce the anger that has grown against the innocent Indigenous. Is it racism or anger after all the high costs?
Change needs to begin right in the homes of the Indigenous peoples and they need better leadership for that to happen!
Isn’t it great when people tell other people how to respond to issues based on their perception of the problem?
Racist policy and oppression = needless deaths.
Yes blade of grass, it does appear that the gap between the haves and have nots has widened on the reserve. Their system of who gets housing on the reserve and who doesn’t needs to be explained.
Yeah, not like the egalitarian wonderland the rest of Canada lives in. Time to get some Timmies made by underpaid foreign workers amirite?
The business local area downtown has been devastasted by the issues and this very report smells of prejudice in itself.
I was born here, and my ancestors contributed to the development of Lethbridge as a city. We are not settlers, colonialists, Englishmen, or whities, as the militant racist Indigenous’ call us, along with the researcher of this racist and biased report has referred to us as well!
This ‘attack’ on us was paid for with our local citizen tax dollars and neglects to recognize all the difficult work we have done in the past couple of years or all the tax dollars we have contributed.
Allow me to remind the researcher that we are the city of Lethbridge, not a community on the reserve.
We are a city with its own government. Our forefathers built this city with their own blood, sweat, and tears. However, the city has been marred by problems with aboriginal communities being pushed onto our streets.
If you want a shelter that is more aligned and focused on your culture I would suggest that you move it to Standoff. The contract was made in this city with the agreement with the Blood Tribe Department of Health that the shelter would allow non-aboriginals to be sheltered at the Lethbridge Shelter as well.
I for one would rather it was on the reserve! Your report proves the aboriginals do not want to reconcile! !
Yes R.U. Serious I have heard complaints from non indigenous users of the shelter and their experiences there. Perhaps they may need a separate reporting structure that is accountable and reportable to the public. The public who has a right to know how the services that they enable are being applied.
Uh, they aren’t supposed to reconcile with us. Wow. This is why we can elect parasitic demagogues for decades and freak out about “socialism” while reading oil company cue cards. Because of bald ignorance and spite.
I find that comment interesting. Koreans run the majority of businesses in Standoff and First Nations have bought into pipelines prior to this point and are trying to buy part of the TransMountain. They have also purchased Oil Reserves within Canada. Many First Nations are running drilling companies and spin off companies for Oil. So it sounds like you may be in opposition to your own community, which is fine, because I am in opposition to this one. Its tough to use slurs when everyone is participating in it, isn’t it?
Can you provide the data to support your comment please?
TransMountain- https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/trans-mountain-pipeline-alberta-nesika-1.6376011
Gas- https://edmontonjournal.com/business/energy/tc-energy-plans-to-discuss-selling-natural-gas-pipeline-stake-to-indigenous-groups
Ownership in oil producing properties – In the largest energy-related Indigenous partnership transaction in North America, 23 First Nations and Métis communities in northern Alberta are investing $1.1 billion to become part owners of seven Enbridge oil sands pipelines.
Through a new company called Athabasca Indigenous Investments, communities will hold an 11.57 per cent ownership stake in pipelines that transport about 45 per cent of Canadian oil sands production.
https://madethecanadianway.ca/indigenous-equity-energy-industry-2/#:~:text=In%20northern%20Alberta%2C%20the%20Fort,sands%20project's%20East%20Tank%20Farm.
Let me know if you would like more. As I said its tough to claim green when you own black.
Nothing about Koreans I see. At least one of the stores is owned by an Indian family, and then there’s Kainai Market… Yeah seems like you just spout whatever half truth you’ve heard somewhere. Also no one anywhere said anything about claiming green. Everybody eats and travels and lives as they can afford. Not wanting to end up with a fouled water table doesn’t make you green, it makes you not foolish. And no one is unaware that FNMI groups have interests in OandG projects. It’s been in the news constantly for years.
“an Indian family”?
It’s like a Canadian family, but from India.
Koreans- I am repeating what I was told when helping at Kiimapiipiitsin(sp) camp. I was trying to come up with ways to give jobs to Standoff Natives. Including sending bedding in to be cleaned. At that point there was a “chuckle” from the people around the camp and they stated “Koreans run all the businesses in Standoff”. No one countered the statement so my assumption, rightfully or wrongfully was that it was truthful.
If it is an incorrect statement then I retract it with apology.
O&G it seemed to be a surprise to you because the comment suggested the “settlers take their orders from O&G as if natives did not participate.
Please don’t use “they” it’s called othering, you should say Indigenous Peoples if you are referring to Indigenous Peoples.
I will try to remember that, but I am just an old settler and use that as an excuse.
That’s not an excuse. Willful ignorance is your only excuse, or stupidity, your pick. Same as the rest of the self-righteous bullies on here, it’s all about how you’ve done no wrong. You have done plenty wrong, just in these comments. You’re an arrogant, spiteful racist, if the things you’ve written (then edited multiple times) are any indication.
You are an old settler. Also a racist and ignorant one. I’m also a settler. I acknowledge that I stand on the opportunities that my forebearers had as settlers, and that those opportunities were built directly on top of the suffering, misery, and death of the Indigenous peoples of Western Canada. Because I’m a man, not a coward. I recognize that it is our responsibility as settlers to see that we, individually make sure that we do nothing to block and, where possible, do what we can to encourage the paying forward of those opportunities to the Nations with which we signed treaties. Nickel and diming and bringing up figures for FNMI people’s costs to society when you don’t even consider you own or those of every other settler using health care, public schools, colleges and universities, etc, etc, is a disgusting reminder of what you stand for.
Okay Daffy, whatever you say is Gospel
Yep, I figured you wouldn’t have much to say there, Denny.
This city was built on prostitution and coal, almost in that order. It’s built on the murder, rape, forced starvation, crooked government and community treatment, and general destruction of the way of life of the Blood Tribe and other local First Nations. Also on the destroyed lives of women forced into prostitution and the brutal starvation policies of mine managers that made all people of non-Brit/non-Mormon ancestry into second class citizens. It’s an ugly history that apparently hasn’t changed much, if at all. Racism, ignorance, and greed. And pride in empty myths about a past that never took place.
the past lives on
the word aboriginal is outdated and offensive
Aboriginal group refers to whether the person is First Nations (North American Indian), Métis or Inuk (Inuit). These are the three groups defined as the Aboriginal peoples of Canada in the Constitution Act, 1982, Section 35 (2). A person may be in more than one of these three specific groups.
From the exact same document: Status: This standard was replaced by ‘Indigenous group of person’ as of April 1, 2021.
Just here to watch the commenters prove the point of the researcher.
It shows just how fragile recnciliation is at this point. When trying to change its not a great idea to call the people that are now seeing the light “settlers” or the sitting Council that will change the face of Lethbridge Racists.
It does not take much to realize whom “the defined racists are” when saying its Council”. It means all of them.
So it raises numerous questions. Many that apply to the failings of City Hall presumably and the failings of the First Nations, would you agree, or is this a 100% failure on Lethbridge’s settlers?
which of the 94 calls to action from The Truth and Reconciliation Commission are you referring to when you speak of reconciliation?
When did you expect them to be fully actioned by- Tuesday? I know, as a for instance that I have worked with Elders to try to establish a facility on the 509 to treat Indigenous Addiction. Because I find this whole “Savin Lives” a crock! In the last two years 50% of the Addicts have died in this city. 90% were Indigenous! Why? 2 reasons
1) Whitey, is deciding how, when where, how much and how little. Yes Blood Tribe Health is running the Shelter but, thats like throwing a Cat into a dogpound and expecting the Cat to win the fight.
2) I made the proposal and got the support of 13 Elders on the Blood (No names because they will be blackballed) I made 5 requests to Chief and Council to present them the alternative to Whiteman medicine and whiteman control. They did not even answer the emails. I worked with Alvin Mills out at his Camp trying my best to help.
So the reason why 1 of the 94 calls to action is failing is because the Indigenous “appear” and I will stress the term “appear” to want to run the whitemans programs. Hence the reason I came up with the saying “You can;t drive a Teepee stake into Concrete!”
I am an old dude, have been around addicts for decades. The Indigenous value life experiences, I have life experiences when it comes to addicts. So as a “litmous test” the Indigenous have failed there own when it comes to Addiction. There is not one example of using the whiteman’s methods that shows “Savin Lives” is anything but sustaining long term pain and addiction, and yet, the Indigenous decided to give it the old college try?
So when an idea is brought forward that actually will not just “Save Lives in the moment” but has a chance to actually sustain life without the pain, its not even considered by the Indigenous here?
Now perhaps it may be a rebellion against a perceived whitey? I am according to my Metis’ Card a Metis and had what I perceived to be a great idea and was more than willing to turn over that idea and gift it to Chief Fox and Council. They had no time to hear it in the last 5 years. (Whats the new name for 1/2 a settler?)
Am I a friend of the Blackfeet? No idea, I know I am not an enemy and have no idea whatsoever why I was not given 1/2 hour of Fox’s time. Perhaps he heard through the grapevine that I wanted something in return? I wanted the Blackfoot name for “perfect a$$hole” reserved for me and he did not believe I was “perfect yet”?
Perhaps its because, much like yourself, I call a spade a spade. But 210ish people died in Lethbridge in the last 2 years of which about 190 were Indigenous, you would think those kinds of statistics would somehow open the door to an idea, but it appears it hasn’t and won’t.
I took on 1 of the 94. Got no response, not even a insult to let me know they aren’t interested. So if that is going to be the general response to new Ideas the other 93 should be a decades thing.
Lastly, as I have stated many times and I mean many! I post under my real name because I believe in what I say, and I say what I mean, sometimes/all the time- its offensive but if you have a good heart (weak or not) then you should be unashamed of what you believe.
So I have to ask, why are you and other supporters posting under aliases? Is it because you are afraid to stand up for what you believe in? That will not get the other 93 done! I will sit down with you and anyone else “anytime and anywhere” you would like and look you straight in the eye and tell you the same thing I am saying on this board.
First rule of “Fight Club” grow testicles, big testicles! If you decide to man up, I will gladly join your team and help as much as I can, if you are interested in the opinion of 1/2 a settler!
So having a Metis card gives you license to spout ignorant hateful nonsense about the Blood Tribe? I was not aware.
lol and That’s all you have to say? pffft.. All you have is spoutful anger, no solution just plain anger and it will get you no where.
So let me see if I have this right, you can utter ignorant hateful comments at the rest of us because its based on facts. When I do the same, comments based on fact, you can’t take the criticism, but you want us too? Okey-Dokey Goofy!
Why would I comment on your “I tried but they didn’t accept my help” line of rot? What criticism? What am I supposed to comment on? I could care less if you call me a racist. I could care less about all your posturing and your apologies for racism. My name is John Greenshields, which you could have easily found out by Googling my username. I doubt very much you want to meet and hear everything I have to say. But I’ll look you right in the eye and tell you go … if it will make you feel more righteous.