Newspaper apologizes for cartoon depicting Indigenous people seeking payout from Pope
First Nations leaders say cartoon reinforces negative
stereotypes
First Nations leaders in southern Ontario say the media has to do better at reconciliation after a newspaper ran an offensive cartoon depicting Indigenous people asking the Pope for financial compensation.
"You can't speak out of both sides of your mouth — to Indigenous people one way, and then what you print to the general Canadian population," said Laurie Carr, chief of Hiawatha First Nation.
Metroland Media's seven Simcoe County newspapers ran a cartoon last week that pictured the Pope saying "I'm sorry" to what appears to be an Indigenous woman and man, who respond "How $orry?"
Carr, who sits on one of Metroland Media's advisory councils in Peterborough, said "it's really disturbing" to see a cartoon published like that in 2022.
"When you have Metroland Media who has reached out to Indigenous people to sit on these advisory committees … to work together and to bring a better media and the truth to the general Canadian population … it's really disheartening," said Carr.
Metroland Media is a subsidiary of the Torstar Corporation, and has newspapers in the Simcoe County communities of Alliston, Barrie, Bradford and West Gwillimbury, Collingwood, Innisfil, Midland/Penetanguishene, Orillia and Stayner/Wasaga.
Editor's apology
When contacted for comment, Adam Martin-Robbins, Metroland's managing editor for the Simcoe County newspapers, directed CBC News to a column he wrote that was published on Simcoe.com on Monday.
"The cartoon we published on the editorial page in our seven local newspapers last week was offensive, and we apologize," Martin-Robbins wrote.
"We apologize, in particular, to our Indigenous readers including our Beausoleil First Nation and Rama First Nation neighbours as well as the Métis residing in Midland and surrounding communities. We recognize the generational trauma of the atrocities related to the residential school system."
He wrote that the cartoon, which was drawn by Steve Nease, "was intended as a satirical look at how the Pope's long-awaited apology to Indigenous people falls short without the Roman Catholic Church also delivering on its promise of providing compensation to residential school survivors. But this wasn't the way to depict that opinion and we shouldn't have published it."
Nease wrote in an email to CBC News that he believes a papal apology is the first step toward righting the wrongs that residential school survivors faced from the Catholic church and that the Pope should "put his money where his mouth is, and compensate victims financially."
"I know that many have been offended by my cartoon, and I regret that deeply," Nease wrote.
"It was never my intention, or the intention of the newspaper that ran it, to cause such hurt."
Carr said she is thankful for an apology, but would have preferred it be just an apology, rather than explain the intention behind the cartoon.
News needs more historical context
Reg Niganobe, grand council chief of the Anishinabek Nation whose members include some First Nations in Simcoe County, said cartoons like that reinforce a stereotype that Indigenous people are only out for money when something bad happens.
"Money is the only compensation that can be offered to us at the very least, other than maybe jail time or prosecution for the offenders. But that doesn't address the issue of what happens to our people," said Niganobe.
Niganobe, whose father attended the Spanish Indian Residential School, said he accepts the editor's apology but would like to see media take actions moving forward like including more historical background when reporting on Indigenous issues.
"They leave out the historical context, right?" he said.
"They leave out all the information and all the facts that exist within them and it puts Indigenous people in a very poor light."
Martin-Robbins wrote in the column that the newspaper has reviewed its processes and added an extra layer of review and oversight for its editorial page content. He also wrote they are committed to ongoing training focused on anti-oppression, anti-racism and inclusion and diversity, among other things.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dear Simcoe County readers, we owe you an apology
The cartoon published in our newspapers last week was offensive, and we're sorry, writes Adam Martin-Robbins
Simcoe.com
Monday, April 18, 2022
It’s about trust. Our relationship with our readers is built on transparency, honesty and integrity. As such, we have launched a trust initiative to tell you who we are and how and why we do what we do. This article is part of that project.
Let me start with this: We Are Sorry.
The cartoon we published on the editorial page in our seven local newspapers last week was offensive, and we apologize.
We apologize, in particular, to our Indigenous readers including our Beausoleil First Nation and Rama First Nation neighbours as well as the Métis residing in Midland and surrounding communities. We recognize the generational trauma of the atrocities related to the residential school system.
The cartoon was intended as a satirical look at how the Pope's long-awaited apology to Indigenous people falls short without the Roman Catholic Church also delivering on its promise of providing compensation to residential school survivors. But this wasn't the way to depict that opinion and we shouldn't have published it.
Second, I’d like to thank the many readers who reached out by email and social media to call us out and express their concerns.
Your responses are an important part of our reflection and learning as we strive to do better.
It's also an important reminder of how impactful the work we do is and what we must consider before publishing content about or in reference to Indigenous peoples.
We must, we can and we will do better.
Since the cartoon was published, we have reviewed and changed our processes so this won't happen again. We have added an extra layer of review and oversight for our editorial page content to ensure it meets our ethical standards.
We're also aware we have more learning to do. We're committed to ongoing training focused on anti-oppression, anti-racism, inclusion and diversity, among other things.
In our daily work as journalists, we're regularly confronted with tough ethical decisions and we often do the right thing. But, on occasion, we get it wrong.
When that happens, we know how important it is to own up to our mistakes.
Owning up to our errors is part of what makes us a trusted news source that our readers count on to keep them informed about what's happening in their communities.
We recognize, for some readers, this error in judgment has undermined your trust in us.
I know our dedicated team of editors and reporters will strive to re-earn your trust.
I assure you, we're committed to delivering fair, balanced, and ethical journalism rooted in values of respect and dignity, which readers expect from us.
Adam Martin-Robbins is managing editor of Metroland’s seven Simcoe County newspapers and Simcoe.com. We welcome your questions and value your comments. Email our trust committee at trust@metroland.com.
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