Canada: Toronto PC Police Losing Touch with Reality
I heard on the radio the other day (I listen to 102.1 The Edge, out of Toronto) that the Toronto School System will no longer allow use of the word 'Chief' for fear of offending First Nations People (Native Americans is the name used in the U.S.):
The Toronto District School Board is completing a phase-out of the word “chief” from job titles, out of respect for Indigenous people.
Titles such as chief financial officer, chief academic officer and chief communications officer will see the word “chief” removed and replaced with “manager” or something similar. The changes include 12 chief positions in the professional support services department where the word manager is now used.
The work began a few years ago and is now concluding, TDSB spokesman Ryan Bird said.
Dr. Duke Redbird, curator of Indigenous art and culture at the TDSB, said the change “fits with building a student capacity for intercultural understanding, empathy and mutual respect — and that’s a quote from the Truth and Reconciliation (Commission) recommendations.” The commission was set up to examine the abuse suffered by Indigenous children in Canada’s former residential school system. Its final report made 94 recommendations.
Redbird said the TDSB move solves two problems: First, job titles will more clearly describe what the jobs actually entail. Second, it respects the importance and historical significance of the role of chief in Indigenous communities.
“The word has a lot of meaning to our people,” he added. “Whenever we talk about a person who is a chief, it’s an incredibly important position. One of the things that we have found in the past is that the word chief was used as a slang, pejorative word, describing anyone who happened to be of Indigenous background.”
When asked if he’d like to see the word chief switched out across the board, Redbird said the term is an English one.
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I was appalled at this and asked Buzz about it, he consulted with Kavika whose response was, (abridged) We don't even have the term 'Chief' we use the term 'Headman'.
I wonder if I'll be allowed to ride my motorcycle across the border anymore-it's an Indian Chief. I don't want to trigger some PC Snowflake into peeing their pants......guess I need to stay clear of the GTA.
I wonder if I'll be allowed to ride my motorcycle across the border anymore-it's an Indian Chief.
You'll have to change the brand name of your bike to Indian Headman so you don't offend any native americans...
yeah, but still, it'll also have to be changed to First Nations People (instead of Indian) - Headman. Sigh....guess I'll just have to be a PC scofflaw.
Around here the "Chief" is usually called Ogemaw.
That's for the Anishinaabe tribe
As I said previously, I'm damn well going to continue saying Chief of Police, Editor-in-chief, Chief Petty Officer, Chief of Staff, even if the PC freaks protest with posters and threats against my life.
It's interesting that Duke Redbird, whom I happen to know personally as he was once my client, and about whom I wrote an article that is posted on the Anishinaabe group, and Kavika's take on the word "Chief" is totally different. My opinion of what Duke said as quoted in the article is a bunch of self-important bullshit put into terms to make him sound like some kind of philosophical expert. I almost laughed when I read it.
These changes are usually made by someone who doesn't actually know what might be offensive or not. They're just trying to make waves and show how sensitive they are. Which frankly, if I were an NA, I would tend to find offensive.