In recent weeks, numerous individuals and organizations from across the country have called for the resignation of McGill's chancellor, Richard Pound. Pound is also a member of the International Olympic Committee, as well as the organizing committee for the Vancouver 2010 games. This resignation campaign is in response to comments he made during an interview with La Presse, when a journalist asked him about the decision to hold the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing despite China's record of human rights abuses. He responded by making a comparison between China and Canada, saying in French, "We must not forget that 400 years ago, Canada was a land of savages, with scarcely 10,000 inhabitants of European descent, while in China, we're talking about a 5,000-year-old civilization."
The most obvious problem with this is the labeling of indigenous people as "savages," a racist term used by settlers on this continent to dehumanize indigenous peoples and justify their killing, displacement, and cultural assimilation. Pound has tried to argue that in French the term "sauvage" can mean "wild" or "savage," and is not necessarily derogatory. He claims that the expression was out of date, but not racist.
Unfortunately, the comment would still be racist, even if the word "sauvage" were omitted. His comment ignores the fact that the civilizations of indigenous peoples have inhabited this continent for thousands of years. The idea that Europeans settled an empty, uninhabited "wilderness" (legally known as the doctrine of "terra nullius") has been an important means of justifying colonization, and the violence that accompanies it. In measuring our civilization by its number of European inhabitants, Pound shows his ignorance of the violence and racism involved in the foundation of what he calls Canada.
Pound has issued a public apology for the use of the term "sauvage."
"I apologize for any unintentional harm that was caused," he said, and later added, "it's fallen out of favour now and I probably should have been more alert to the change in vocabulary." However, individuals and groups calling for Pound's resignation are looking for more than an apology for a failure to observe standards of political correctness. For any apology to be legitimate, it would have to, at the very least, acknowledge the ways in which comments like these perpetuate ongoing systems of racism and colonialism in our society. This is especially important considering Pound's prominent role in the organization of the 2010 Olympic games, which are being denounced by many indigenous people as a blatant example of Canadian colonialism.
The call for Pound's resignation as chancellor of McGill was originally issued by the Assembly of First Nations of Quebec and Labrador, and this call has not been rescinded despite his attempts to excuse himself through a letter of apology to the Assembly. Furthermore, in response to Pound's public apology, the Grand Chief of the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs stated that "the UBCIC finds Pound's attempt to deflect the seriousness of his blatantly racist remarks as clumsy, insincere, and completely unacceptable." Clearly, despite his repeated attempts, apologies from Pound are not good enough.
Resigning is the least that Pound can do to show that he is serious about the gravity of what he has done. The Chancellor is a symbolic figurehead, appointed by the Governor General, and no matter how many times he apologizes for an offensive word, the symbolism attached to his weak and racist understanding of Canadian history will remain. By resigning, Pound has the chance to make a statement about how seriously we should take these racist interpretations of history and culture. Such a statement will at least represent some semblance of an attempt to make up for the harm that remarks like his cause and reflect-something a simple apology can never hope to accomplish.
Rachel Abs is a U3 history and women's studies student, and Cleve Higgins is a U3 sociology and international development studies student.
2008 Woodie Awards
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Indigent Vagabond
posted 11/18/08 @ 12:27 PM EST
The modus operandi of the legal establishment and its collaborating Indian accomplices is the suppression of the constitutional and international law that the establishment intentionally is breaking. (Continued…)
Pamela Fillion
posted 11/18/08 @ 1:09 PM EST
Firstly, I invite people to read this article printed in our other prominent school newspaper:
http://www.mcgilldaily.com/article/5913-the-problem-of-systemic-discrimination
Secondly, I understand this position. (Continued…)
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