Elected officials in the Cowichan Valley have taken to social media to condemn racism in the wake of a COVID-19 outbreak among Cowichan Tribes.
North Cowichan Mayor Al Siebring and Cowichan Valley MLA Sonia Furstenau are among those who have voiced their disgust with social media posts and behaviour towards members of Cowichan Tribes after the First Nation experienced a surge in cases this month.
乌鸦传媒滱s you will know, I spend a fair bit of time on social media, and I乌鸦传媒檝e been extremely concerned with some of the posts I乌鸦传媒檝e been seeing in the past few days with respect to the COVID outbreak among the Cowichan Tribes community,乌鸦传媒� Siebring wrote in a post on his public page on Sunday, Jan. 10. 乌鸦传媒淥K乌鸦传媒� I乌鸦传媒檓 beyond 乌鸦传媒榚xtremely concerned.乌鸦传媒� I乌鸦传媒檓 disappointed. And I乌鸦传媒檓 pissed off.
乌鸦传媒淪ome of the posts I乌鸦传媒檝e seen are vile; filled with racism and an 乌鸦传媒榰s/them乌鸦传媒� mentality. They are fear-based, and they are inappropriate.乌鸦传媒�
Chief and council imposed a shelter in place order for Tribes members until Jan. 22. The First Nations Health Authority said the case countwas 45 as of Saturday.
Siebring noted the response from the broader community has included demands that off-reserve employers fire any First Nations workers based on their membership in Cowichan Tribes.
乌鸦传媒淭hat, folks, is racism,乌鸦传媒� he wrote. 乌鸦传媒淧lain and simple. And it乌鸦传媒檚 wrong.乌鸦传媒�
乌鸦传媒淏ecause here乌鸦传媒檚 the thing. Tribes is being completely transparent about their numbers 乌鸦传媒� far moreso than Island Health. The FNHA has the authority to be this specific and transparent on cases, locations, etc., while the rest of us, (including non-First Nations elected officials) don乌鸦传媒檛 even know specifically where cases are unless we hear from specific institutions like Superstore or the Chemainus High School.乌鸦传媒�
Siebring lamented that Cowichan Tribes乌鸦传媒� transparency is being rewarded with racist rhetoric and demands for segregation. He also pointed out that COVID-19 was in the Cowichan Valley long before the outbreak in Cowichan Tribes was announced.
乌鸦传媒淏ut here乌鸦传媒檚 the thing,乌鸦传媒� he wrote. 乌鸦传媒淔or 10 months, COVID was present in the non-First Nations community. The first case among Cowichan Tribes wasn乌鸦传媒檛 identified until New Year乌鸦传媒檚 Day. But NOT ONCE during that 10-month period did we ever hear of Tribes members looking at every non-indigenous person with the assumption that they had COVID. We didn乌鸦传媒檛 hear any calls for all white people to stay away from their jobs until the pandemic is over. I didn乌鸦传媒檛 see a single social media post or news article where Cowichan Tribes members were complaining that it was 乌鸦传媒榯hose white people乌鸦传媒� who were spreading the virus all over the Island.
乌鸦传媒淎nd yet, now that the numbers have changed, that乌鸦传媒檚 the kind of rhetoric we乌鸦传媒檙e starting to see. Folks, we are better than this. And it has to stop.乌鸦传媒�
The mayor acknowledged that his words echoed those posted by Cowichan Tribes councillor Stephanie Atleo a day earlier.
乌鸦传媒淣ot once during this did we look at every non-indigenous person and assume you had COVID,乌鸦传媒� Atleo had written. 乌鸦传媒淲e did not tell any of you to come back to work or to our businesses when the pandemic is over. Not once did we comment on any news article about the spread and say 乌鸦传媒榦h those 乌鸦传媒渨hite乌鸦传媒� people are spreading it on the Island!乌鸦传媒櫸谘淮綕
Furstenau asked the wider community to 乌鸦传媒渟how humanity in their interactions with Cowichan Tribes members as they navigate this scary and dangerous time.乌鸦传媒�
乌鸦传媒淲hen the news broke that cases were on the reserve, and the shelter-in-place order was issued, my first thought was to the health of the elders, and my second thought was to the reaction of those who still choose to discriminate based on race,乌鸦传媒� she wrote.
乌鸦传媒淭here is no difference between how these cases are being handled and how the cases in the broader community are being handled 乌鸦传媒� with the exception that we know the number of cases.乌鸦传媒�
乌鸦传媒淭here is no room for racism in our collective effort in returning to zero cases in this community. We have two choices as a community right now: to unite in our effort to protect our most vulnerable from this devastating virus, or to turn on our neighbours at the moment they need us most. We are asking you to choose to be united, and encourage others who may be reacting in fear to do the same. We have done it before and there has never been a more critical time to do it again.乌鸦传媒�
Cowichan Tribes councillor Stuart Pagaduan also put out a call for unity in a post to his personal Facebook page that was shared more than 100 times.
乌鸦传媒淩ather than focus on the ignorance and hatred of people in our community let乌鸦传媒檚 acknowledge and celebrate the friendships we already have. In the School District and as a councillor I乌鸦传媒檝e had the privilege to meet some beautiful people over the years. These people are not Indigenous but I choose to call them my friends and esteemed colleagues. I feel the need to stand up and push back against all the discrimination and ugliness. I have many good friends out there and we need to hear your voice and opinion. Thank you for taking the time to understand our community and history of our people.乌鸦传媒�
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