Felix Thomas, chief of the Saskatoon Tribal Council, says racism prevalent

The Chief of the Saskatoon Tribal Council believes the mayor’s view on the problems with racism in the city is overly optimistic.

Chief Felix Thomas told CBC Radio’s Saskatoon Morning that racism is a big problem in Saskatoon. Thomas said minimizing the impact of racism in the community isn’t helpful.

"I think we all, first of all, need to acknowledge that it is prevalent, and that we can do something."

In fact, he said, his own wife has been the victim of hurtful racial slurs.

"She was in shock, she didn't know how to respond, she just stood there."

Felix was reacting to comments Saskatoon Mayor Don Atchison made this week.

Mayor's view on racism has community talking

The topic is front and centre after Maclean’s magazine declared Winnipeg the country’s most racist city. The article also warned that Saskatchewan is not far behind. When asked how his city is doing, Mayor Don Atchison told CBC Radio that Saskatoon is not as racist as Winnipeg.

"I think we're eons ahead of where they are in Winnipeg."

"We're trying to address the situation and we admit that we're not perfect, and that we want to make a difference here."

The claim has social media buzzing, and many community leaders, including Thomas have now come forward to offer a differing view on the state of racism in Saskatoon.

Racial slurs hit close to home

The personal story that Thomas shared live on radio this week happened in 1997. That’s the day when overt racism hit close to home.

"Well my wife was in a gas station getting gas and she was called a squaw, because she was wearing a ribbon shirt,” he said.

Thomas believes education is the key to ending racist attitudes in the city. But he says everyone has a role to play when they witness unfair discrimination in Saskatoon.

“You can say that’s not right, that’s not proper and I do know that a lot people get treated differently because of looks and because of appearance and even because of title, and so those things should not matter in how you treat an individual.”