David Ahenakew

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

David Ahenakew (born July 28, 1933) is a Canadian First Nations politician, and former National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations.

He returned to national and international attention in December 2002, after telling a reporter from the Saskatoon StarPhoenix that Jews were a disease and that Hitler was trying to "clean up the world" when he "fried six million of those guys."[1]

Contents

In connection with the remarks, which were made on tape with his knowledge, Ahenakew was convicted on July 8, 2005 of willfully promoting hatred against Jews, and was fined $1,000.[2] On June 8, 2006, the decision was overturned by the Saskatchewan Court of Queen's Bench on the grounds that the trial judge failed to properly take into consideration that the remarks were uttered in the midst of an angry confrontation with a reporter, and therefore may not have constituted a "willful" promotion of hatred. A new trial was ordered.[3]

On July 11, 2005, he was stripped of the Order of Canada,[4] which he received in 1978 for his work in advancing Indian education. He is only the second person, after Alan Eagleson, to have lost the honour.

[edit] Military and political career

Ahenakew was born at Sandy Lake Indian Reserve in Saskatchewan, Canada. He served in the Canadian Forces from 1951 to 1967, during which time he was stationed in Germany, Korea (during the Korean War), and Egypt.

In 1967, upon leaving the army, he accepted a position with the Saskatchewan government, and became active in the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations (FSIN). He was elected to the position of FSIN president in 1968. He stated that his military experience heavily influenced his choice to pursue politics: "I could see that what was happening to our people was the same kind of exploitation and degradation I had seen in Korea and Egypt."

During his time as FSIN president he released a report entitled "Indian Education in Saskatchewan," and played a role in the founding of the Saskatchewan Indian Cultural College and the Saskatchewan Indian Federated College in 1972.

Ahenakew received the Order of Canada distinction in 1978. His citation read: "Member of a United Nations committee and of the World Indigenous Peoples Council. His many years of service to Indians and Métis in Saskatchewan culminated in his election as Chief of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indians, which has revolutionized Indian education in his province."[5] In 1982 he was elected Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, a national representative body for Canadian aboriginals.

[edit] StarPhoenix interview

On December 13, 2002, Ahenakew gave a speech to an FSIN group, which was attended by James Parker, a reporter from the Saskatoon StarPhoenix. He referred to "goddamn immigrants" in Canada during his speech. During a question-and-answer session following his lecture, Ahenakew offered his opinion that Israel and the United States (specifically mentioning George W. Bush) were going to start the next world war. He said:

But ah, the Germans used to tell me, and I got to know them well because I played soccer against them and with them and so forth. But they used to tell me that you guys are blessed. What we know about the Indians in Canada. They are blessed. But that blessing is being destroyed by the, by your immigrants that are going over there. Especially the Jews, they say, you know. The Second World War was created by the Jews and the Third World War, whatever it is, right now that war ... that wages on Israel in the Arab countries. I was there too. But there’s gonna be a war because the Israelis and the “Bushies”, you know, the bully, the bully, the ah the bigot and so forth in the United States that tells you that if you’re not with me you are against me.

After the session concluded, the StarPhoenix reporter asked him to clarify these remarks, and he stated that while serving in the army after the war, Germans had told him the Jews had started the war. The StarPhoenix quoted him as further saying:

The Jews damn near owned all of Germany prior to the war. ... That's how Hitler came in. He was going to make damn sure that the Jews didn't take over Germany or Europe. That's why he fried six million of those guys, you know. Jews would have owned the goddamned world. And look what they're doing. They're killing people in Arab countries.

Parker asked how Ahenakew could justify the Holocaust. The StarPhoenix quoted Ahenakew as replying:

How do you get rid of a disease like that, that's going to take over, that's going to dominate?

[edit] Public reaction

The comments were first circulated in the Canadian national media on December 14, 2002, and were condemned as antisemitic by Jewish groups, aboriginal leaders, and Canadian politicians at all levels. Both Perry Bellegarde, president of FSIN, and Matthew Coon Come, AFN national chief, were quick to distance themselves from Ahenakew's remarks.

Ahenakew apologized for the remarks, saying they did not represent his beliefs and that he was "... caught up in the heat of the moment. I was attempting to spark debate on what has been happening to our First Nations people." At his trial, he later recanted his apology and blamed his outburst on his diabetes, some wine, and a change in medication, a defense that was rejected by the Court. Strangely, however, he also testified that he still believed Jews had started the Second World War.

In an interview in the July/August 2003 edition of This Magazine, Ahenakew expressed to reporter Alex Roslin his dissatification with what he called "racial control" of the media, saying that "when a group of people, a race of people, can control the world media, then there's got to be something done about that." The article also quotes sources who claim that Ahenakew had long held racist beliefs against Jews, Blacks and other ethnic groups that had been shielded from the public.[6]

In June 2003, he was formally charged by the Saskatchewan Justice Department with promoting hatred. On July 8, 2005, he was convicted of willfully promoting hatred against Jews, and was fined $1,000.[7] Jewish groups, aboriginals and others called for Ahenakew's membership in the Order of Canada to be revoked. The Governor General revoked David Ahenakew's membership in the Order of Canada on July 11, 2005.[8]

[edit] Appeal

On June 8, 2006, the court decision was overturned by Justice Robert Laing of the Saskatchewan Court of Queen's Bench on the grounds that the trial judge failed to properly take into consideration that the remarks were uttered in the midst of an angry confrontation with a reporter, and therefore may not have constituted a "willful" promotion of hatred. A new trial was ordered.[9] The Crown has chosen to further appeal the matter to the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal.

[edit] References

  1. ^ CBC News
  2. ^ CBC News
  3. ^ CBC News
  4. ^ CBC News
  5. ^ Governor General
  6. ^ Roslin, Alex. "Speak No Evil", This Magazine, July-August 2003. 
  7. ^ CBC News
  8. ^ Governor General
  9. ^ CBC News
Preceded by
Delbert Riley		 National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations
1982-1985		 Succeeded by
Georges Erasmus

[edit] External links

[edit] News articles

[edit] Judgements

Languages