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Muskoday First Nation Chief Ava Bear thought twice Wednesday morning about going to the media.
That, she stated, is part of the problem.
“I questioned myself,” she said. “Some of these individuals do this type of action for attention. Will this now bring more individuals out of the woodwork that have the same line of thinking? It’s very possible.”
What Bear is referring to is a sign that was posted on the First Nation’s land Wednesday morning.
It was a cardboard sign, with the following words, written with a marker:
“WHITE LIVES MATTER TOO,” it reads. “WHO ELSE IS GONNA WORK AND PAY TAXES SO YOU CAN SIT ON YOUR ASS!”
On top of the sign also is a pair of shoes, tied to the fence the sign was posted on.
Bear believes that is a shot at the Indigenous community, making a mockery of the children’s shoes that were placed on the steps of churches and government buildings in Saskatchewan.
The children’s shoes were meant to represent the findings of unmarked graves at former residential school sites across Canada — including one on the Cowessess First Nation.
The Muskoday bridge, where the sign was posted, had previously been transformed into a memorial with 215 pairs of shoes hung from the structure.
In a joint media conference Wednesday with the Saskatoon Tribal Council, Bear and the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations, more information came to light.
Bear said witnesses saw a man when the sign was being posted.
Instead of pushing to shame the individual who posted the racist remarks, Bear, FSIN Second Vice Chief David Pratt and Saskatoon Tribal Council Chief Mark Arcand all wanted to resolve the conflict with one common goal: Education.
“When we see this type of stuff happening in our First Nations communities, this is really deplorable. It’s not acceptable,” Arcand said.
“This has to be addressed. It’s a sign of hatred and racism that still exists … I think the general public has to be aware of this and also looking for us to support the Muskoday First Nation in educating this individual.
“Based on the ignorance, we have an opportunity here to help this man, and this person, deal with whatever he’s dealing with in a proper way because this is not reconciliation. This is promoting hatred and anger towards Indigenous people.”
Bear said she considered the incident a hate crime, and the description of the suspect along with his vehicle had been forwarded to the RCMP.
Bear is looking for an apology, and Pratt said he’d like to see the individual charged in some form to push others away from doing something similar.
In looking at the sign, Bear said she sees three common misconceptions in the individual’s racist posting.
That includes the idea that Indigenous people don’t contribute to the economy, and that she believes — and has always believed — that all lives matter. The third is the “mockery” which the shoes depicted.
Bear said she has sent an open invitation to the individual to stand with Muskoday First Nation and the Indigenous community.
“I think this individual must not really know who we are at all,” Bear said.
Muskoday First Nation is located between Birch Hills and Prince Albert.