Newspaper apologizes for cartoon depicting Indigenous people seeking payout from Pope

First Nations leaders in southern Ontario say the media has to do better at reconciliation after a newspaperran 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'sseven Simcoe County newspapersrana 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 Mediais a subsidiary of theTorstar Corporation, and has newspapers in the Simcoe County communities ofAlliston, 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 acolumn he wrote that was published on Simcoe.comon 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 Mtis 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."

Neasewrote in an email to CBC Newsthat he believes a papal apology is the first step towardrighting 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 saidshe is thankful for an apology, but would have preferredit bejust an apology, rather thanexplain theintention 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, saidcartoons 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 seemedia take actionsmoving forward likeincluding more historical background whenreporting 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 itseditorial page content. He also wrote they are committed to ongoing training focused on anti-oppression, anti-racism andinclusion and diversity, among other things.