WINNIPEG — An indigenous teen says being the target of a racial slur from a city community centre worker made him feel less than human and he wants an apology.
The 14-year-old, who asked that his name not be used, says he was hanging out on the grounds of a community centre near his Winnipeg school earlier this month when the worker told him and a friend to leave.
When they lingered, he says, the worker called him a "stupid f---ing Indian."
"My heart sank," the Grade 8 student said Monday. "He made me feel like I was worthless.
"It's stuck with me. At school, it's hard to concentrate because those words keep replaying in your head. It brings down your self-esteem. It makes you feel terrible."
His mother, Lisa Harper, said police have told her they won't investigate what happened as a hate crime because it was just "name-calling." A victims services worker suggested she was overreacting because of the legacy of residential schools, she said.
The community centre issued a statement after the encounter that said the centre takes "these types of incidents very seriously and has contacted Ms. Harper and offered our apology."
But Harper said no one from the community centre or city has apologized to either her or her son. She said she is filing a human rights complaint, but that is proving difficult without the name of the worker.
Cora Morgan, Manitoba's First Nations children's advocate, has been working with the family and said they spent hours at the police station looking for someone to formally investigate. The police eventually visited the home of the employee and he accepted responsibility, said Morgan.
A spokesperson for the Winnipeg police said Monday he couldn't comment.
Morgan said the issue deserves to be taken more seriously.
"This is not just some local store owner," she said. "It's the actual city of Winnipeg. If you are trying to address racism in the city, you would think that the city of Winnipeg would have looked at their own shop first."
Mayor Brian Bowman called what happened appalling.
"I'm sickened, especially when it involves children," he said. "I have children myself and I can only imagine how difficult this situation must have been."
But the employee isn't technically a city worker since he was employed by the community centre, he said.
The mayor said he plans to reach out to his indigenous advisory council for advice on how to improve cultural training for community centre staff.
Winnipeg has spent the last year trying to improve race relations after Maclean's magazine dubbed it the most racist city in Canada. The city held a race relations summit and Bowman declared 2016 "the year of reconciliation."
But problems persist. A decorated indigenous war veteran said recently he was kicked out of a downtown mall by a security guard and a grand chief complained last month she was profiled and followed by security in a store before she approached the manager.
Indigenous groups have started a free ride-sharing program because they say the city's taxi industry is rife with racism.
Harper said she would like to see more action from a city that is supposed to be tackling racism.
"Who does this to a child? It's a crime, violating somebody."
She said she is worried about the safety of her son and she is determined to get some justice.
"I have no choice. I have to give (him) the best lessons possible.
"It has to stop."
