Cartoon meant to be commentary - artist

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The reputation of Canada's only national daily newspaper took a nose-dive on July 6 when the Globe and Mail published a cartoon many Natives found offensive.

"I think it's very racist," said Isadore Campbell, vice-chief of the Meadow Lake Tribal Council in Saskatchewan. "It's a direct shot at the Elders and a direct shot at Indian people as a whole." He said the attack infuriated him.

"I used to read the Globe and Mail everyday, until I saw this," Campbell said. The Globe and Mail is usually a credible newspaper, but now is showing its true stripes, he said.

A group of Elders at the Assembly of First Nations convention in Saskatoon took time to discuss the cartoon. They felt the paper was making fun of their culture. The 'white man' likes to make jokes at the Native people's expense, one man said.

The Elders are the community leaders in all aspects, said Jerry Arshinov of the Plains Indians Cultural Survival School in Calgary.

"I really don't understand why the Globe and Mail would print such a carton. I always thought it was well above that kind of crap."

Arshinov said it was something one might expect from other newspapers, but not the Globe and Mail.

Tony Jenkins, the cartoonist, defended his work, saying it wasn't racist but based on fact or real life. He said the inspiration for the work came from a story about the Kahnawake community's rejection of a casino project.

There are about 60 bands waiting in the wings to get into gaming.

Natives are into smoking, drinking and now gambling, he said. At one time, Elders would pass on information about hunting and trapping. Now the knowledge that will be passed down will be about gambling, the cartoonist said.

He said he attempts to take the political issues of the day and make people laugh and think. It's one man's opinion, and is expected to be taken with a grain of salt, Jenkins said. The intent wasn't to mock, but to shed light on a different viewpoint.

Globe and Mail Associate Editor Sarah Murdoch concurred. Racism is not allowed in the paper, but 'fair comment' is and Jenkins is given a lot of latitude, she said.

"If we thought it was hateful it wouldn't be allowed," Murdoch said.

The essence of editorial cartooning is to take an idea, simplify it and then exaggerate it, she explained. What results isn't always something that pleases, but it wasn't intended to be hurtful, she said.