Eashappie honoured for work in race relations

Building bridges of understanding between Aboriginal people and mainstream society through media is one task Elmer Eashappie does not take lightly. It is an effort that has earned him a national award at the 'Enriching My Canada and Yours' Awards (EMCY) held at the Conexus Arts Centre Regina in April.
"The reason why I did all this is because it helps mainstream have a better understanding of Aboriginal people in Saskatchewan," he said about his role as the Aboriginal Cultural Advisor and New Business Development Project Director for the LeaderPost, Regina's city newspaper.
"It's been very successful, historically Aboriginal people didn't like the media because of all the negative stories they've done in the past. But I think it was just a lack of understanding of mainstream, how they view First Nation and Aboriginal people," he said.
Eashappie runs an initiative of the newspaper to improve relations and develop new readership through a section focused on Aboriginal people. He runs the special quarterly section of the Regina LeaderPost and the Saskatoon StarPhoenix with topics such as residential schools, the Summer and Winter First Nations Games, and First Nations culture and history. Four times a year, the sectionals are circulated to all subscribers along with their paper and delivered to around 10,000 homes in First Nations across the province.
"Once the paper got delivered to every house on each reserve, that was a historic moment in itself because traditionally and historically that's never been done," he said. "You only pick up the paper at the band office or at the band store. But we delivered it to every house, hired someone from every reserve to deliver the paper."
Eashappie recently did a feature called the '2008 Seven Saskatchewan First Nations Profiles'. This focused on a First Nation band and told of its history, contact information, departments, chief and council, band membership, and election act. "It's more of an information (source) and education about the Saskatchewan First Nations," he said.
He finds that having this kind of information about Aboriginal people in the paper achieves several purposes: it gets people talking, provides different perspectives of an issue, and brings about a greater understanding of Aboriginal people.
"I believe that people are now beginning to understand the historical events of what happened to First Nation Aboriginal people in the past," he said. "And people are starting to understand Aboriginal issues more at a grassroots level as opposed to just hearsay."
Eashappie recalls that prior to his position at the city newspaper, he wanted to find a solution to the racism he faced throughout his life and saw media as a great outlet.
"I come from a broken family, the streets, so to speak," he stated. "You know, went through that drug and alcohol stage. It's only been in the last twelve years that I've made a change for myself regarding making a change and helping non-Aboriginals better understand First Nations."
Although Eashappie is a member of Carry the Kettle First Nation, he was born in Broadview and raised off-reserve. His mother moved him out of the reserve at two years old because his father was an alcoholic and she didn't want him to grow up in a dysfunctional environment. However, it was inevitable, as he went through a rough life regardless of that move from the reserve.
"I grew up in an era where I didn't have the nurturing of a loving family because of residential school, because my mother went through that. And I learned life the hard way, very, very hard way and I just hit rock bottom too many times. Then I wanted to change my life so I went to the elders and participated in ceremonies, went to the Sun dance and that's where I began my new life journey, my new other level of learning and I just embraced it and it's history now," he said, adding the teachings continue to help him.
Although Eashappie's work on intercultural relations is profound, he admits more does need to be done, especially to educate society about solutions to Aboriginal issues.
"That would be our continuous cycle and I think people are on the right track right now and government organizations are starting to understand based on the information that they hear," he said. "It kind of backs up what the chiefs are saying."
The award he got was part of a national effort to recognize those who fight racism, strive for inclusive workplaces, and engage in dialogue and action to make Canada a nation open to the diversity of the human condition. Eashappie said it was good enough for him to be nominated for the award in the category of media, but to be announced a winner was unexpected.
"That was something that I can't explain because the other person who was up for the same award category, they had very extensive experience, I was really surprised," he said. Eashappie was nominated in the same category as 'Little Mosque on the Prairie' creator Zarqu Nawaz.
"To me, it came knowing that stuff I developed was very impacting throughout the community," he expressed. "I was very humbled by the experience."
Dr. Shawneen Pete, vice-president for academics at the First Nations University of Canada, nominated Eashappie because she considers his work phenomenal. She said she has seen Eashappie regularly interacting with the university by featuring its innovative programming, students, and educational opportunities in the section.
"From our perspective, it's really opened the doors for us, to feature not only our students but our programs. So from our side of things, he was well-deserving of a nomination," she said. She has known Elmer for over a year now and says his real strength is his visionary outlook. She said he does not lose sight of how media can serve a number of purposes.
"He really would like media to do two things at once, educate non-Aboriginal people about the history and contemporary issues and the contributions about First Nations people as a way to enhance their learning. And then at the same time he wants media to also serve First Nations people so that we can tell our stories in an authoritative way," she noted.
Eashappie was initially hesitant to accept the nomination when she first mentioned it to him, but as they talked about it he eventually agreed his cause was worth the attention.
"It got him really thinking about his own contributions, the work that he does and what legacy he wants to leave behind," she recalled. She said that she realizes the profound contributions of individuals in Saskatchewan often go untold, and there is a need to recognize those people such as Eashappie. "We really need to be proactive in tooting other peoples' horns for them. This award is at the national level and it's a first in Saskatchewan, it's the first nationally and I think he was an extremely well qualified candidate."
The EMCY awards recognize individuals and organizations in nine categories: lifetime achievement, city/community, media, sports/fitness, business, humanitarian, youth, arts and education, and universities.