(St. Albert, AB) On February 5th, 2016, staff members and clients of Poundmakers Lodge Treatment Centre were allegedly subjected to racial profiling by the staff of a Toronto Dominion Bank located in St. Albert, AB and also by members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).
In a interview with Two-Spirit Journal, the Executive Director of Poundmakers, Mr. Brad Cardinal (First Nation Cree), asks “…the Two-Spirit community to join in the boycott of TD Canada Trusts as way to hold this company accountable for the treatment of members of our community.” Mr. Cardinal also calls on Indigenous people to start documenting and publicly voicing their experiences of racism. “We no longer tolerate our marginalization, discrimination and racial profiling,” said Mr. Cardinal at February 8th address on systemic racism that Native people across this land are subjected to on a daily basis. The video recording of Mr. Cardinal’s address has been provided to Two-Spirit Journal by Brandi Morin.
Posted by Brandi Morin on Monday, February 8, 2016
Mr. Cardinal continues, “We ask that our community mobilize. Begin by capturing stories of racism and discrimination and forwarding these to the appropriate authorities for action. Bring your stories forward and share them through public venues thereby breaking the secret that racism doesn’t exist. Racism must be dealt with a swift hand.”
Poundmakers Lodge Treatment Centre, is an Aboriginal addiction treatment centre near Edmonton, Alberta. Established in 1973, Poundmaker’s Lodge has been a leader in the provincial, national and global addiction treatment community. Poundmaker’s Lodge accepts all peoples from all walks of life as outlined in its mission statement. Through concepts based in the cultural and spiritual beliefs of traditional First Nations, Metis and Inuit peoples in combination with 12-Step, abstinence based recovery, Poundmaker’s Lodge offers an Aboriginal holistic treatment experience that focuses on the root causes of addiction and empowers people in their recovery from addiction.