No need for racist comments, say Innu mom and owner of burned bar after crime rally
After a longstanding bar burned, racist rhetoric has come to the forefront in Labrador's central community
A Sheshatshiu mother is warning her children to stay away from Happy Valley-Goose Bay because of racist rhetoric that erupted in the aftermath of a rally about crime.
Florence Milley, who lived in Happy Valley-Goose Bay for a time and now lives on her home reserve in nearby Sheshatshiu, said it's not safe for Innu.
Comments on social media posts have included threats to shoot and kill Innu around the town.
"We're actually a really good, humble people. There's a lot of us that are sober," Milley said.
"It's just heartbreaking," she said, describing how she has felt reading online comments.
A simmering situation in the town escalated early Saturday morning, when the Sand Bar Lounge burned to the ground. A 36-year-old Natuashish man was later charged with arson and other offences, and police said more people may be charged.
Falon Wilson, the owner of the Sand Bar Lounge owner and who spoke at a subsequent community rally on crime and public safety, said the community focus needs to be on crime prevention and on accountability — not any particular group.
"It needs to stop because it is more than one race," she said. "And right now it's causing chaos in the town."
Wilson said that while fire was foreseeable and preventable, and that she had begged RCMP for increased patrols and presence, crime is being committed by people from different backgrounds.
The spectre of racism in Happy Valley-Goose Bay has been connected to a homelessness issue that has long been in the town of about 8,000. Over the past decade, a growing number of people have been living on the trails system.
Racist rhetoric spreads after rally
Monday evening's rally at the town office attracted a large crowd, including local politicians who shared their own concerns about a perceived lack of policing and provincial action.
At the rally and after, racist rhetoric against Innu specifically began to spread. Individuals have called for Innu to return to where they came from, calling for it to become legal to shoot people who are unhoused, and saying that a "purge" night would solve the safety issues.
Wilson and Milley said discrimination and racist remarks are on the rise this week.
While not all the people living on the trails system are Innu, Milley said, there are Innu among the group. Many people in that situation, she said, are struggling with complex traumas, addictions and mental health issues.
Milley said discriminating against Innu, attacking Innu and believing any Innu people who are in Happy Valley-Goose Bay are criminals are not going to help.
"We don't want retaliation. We don't want Goose Bay to look and say, 'I hate the Innu,'" Milley said.
"I'm so scared somebody's going to get killed."
Milley, who said there are not enough RCMP in the region, including Sheshatshiu, said she understands why people are frustrated.
"But I don't want our children to see us fighting because we need to lead by example, not to hurt one another, not to hate one another."
Download our free CBC News app to sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Click here to visit our landing page.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
With files from John Gaudi
