On April 7, 2005, Saskatchewan provincial court judge Marty Irwin finished presiding over the case against David Ahenakew, a former Aboriginal leader. He is expected to deliver his verdict on June 10th, deciding whether Ahenakew is guilty of inciting hatred against an identifiable group, in this case Jews.

Back in December 2002 Mr. Ahenakew delivered a speech to almost two hundred delegates attending a Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations conference on Aboriginal health care. During a forty-five minute address filled with profanities, Ahenakew referred to immigrants as "god-damned immigrants," complained about bigotry, and blamed the media for racial conflict. He talked about his time in Europe with the Canadian military, where Germans told him that Jews had started the Second World War and how they, along with the Americans, were going to start a third world war.

There are times when quoting outrageous comments are useful, but I don’t think this is one of them. You can read the comments he made on any google search and even in my book. Just name an ethnic group and he made derogatory comments about them. However he saved most of his venom for Jews. Proving criminal harm, especially for comments such as Ahenakew’s is not easy to prove beyond a reasonable doubt. Whether he is guilty or not, that does not change the additional problems which took place before and at that conference.

Before this conference ever happened, Ahenakew was noted for similar comments. One close associate of his told the CBC, “I was surprised he said it to a reporter, but I wasn't surprised he would say [such words] because he’d said them in private before. He has his dark side, and he was protected by people in the organization to – you know – keep that dark side under wraps. This time it just came out.”

At the conference, not only did no one say anything, but a few Aboriginal leaders at the conference were upset that the media would dare report Ahenakew’s comments. Outside of the conference there was outrage from people all over Canada, including numerous Aboriginal leaders.

Why didn't any of the delegates or conference leaders condemn Ahenakew's outrageous comments outright? Why had they let him get away with racist comments in the past? Even if the comments were made in private, colleagues owed it to him, because he was a leader in his community, to raise objections. I wonder if anyone, at some point, had told him he would some day get in trouble for spouting his views?

The answers to these questions are similar to the answers in many workplaces and organizations. People are often afraid of speaking out against outrageous comments from people in positions of power. While different today, David Ahenakew was a very powerful man in Saskatchewan.

Ahenakew served in Canada's army, reaching the rank of sergeant and receiving the Canadian Decoration for distinguished service and good conduct. In 1967, he joined the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations (FSIN) and a year later became its chief for a decade, eventually securing a record as the longest serving chief. In 1978, Ahenakew became a recipient of the Order of Canada.

The University of Regina gave him an honorary Doctorate of Laws for his involvement in establishing the Saskatchewan Indian Federated College at the University. To top it all off, he became the national grand chief of the Assembly of First Nations from 1982 until 1985. During his term as grand chief, Ahenakew spoke to a parliamentary inquiry, chastising Canadians for harbouring racist views.

I’m hopeful that at your workplace the comments aren’t as outrageous as Ahenakew’s. However, when a person in authority bullies an employee or makes sexist, racist, homophobic or anti-religious comments, are most people willing to speak up? It’s not easy, but if we want change, we have to find a way of doing something.

What do you do when someone makes racist, sexist, or homophobic comments? What do you do when it's from a distinguished person? What do you do when you're caught off guard?

· First, don’t worry about being caught off guard. If words don’t come to you immediately, collect your thoughts and find a way to say them later. If, however, someone else speaks up on the spot, support that person. You know what it took for him or her to say something.

• Don't be afraid to return to the issue; it’s never too late, even if what you wanted to say at the time comes to you in the middle of a meeting or a workplace gathering. If it's weighing on your mind, it's likely weighing on the minds of others.
  
  
• Stick to the issue, and if the perpetrator wants to sidetrack by pointing out the bad habits of others, insist on sticking to the words that caused you to speak up.
  
  
• Whatever you do, don't try to soft-pedal a situation when strong words are warranted. No need to lambaste a person who made an outrageous comment, but it's really important that the person knows your workplace won't tolerate them.
  
  
• Be prepared to stand alone. Because most employees are conflict averse, you may find others unwilling to join you. You'll have to decide if it's worth it for you.

Regardless of the outcome of Ahenakew’s criminal trial, the lessons for the workplace are important ones. When you hear inappropriate comments, find a way to say something. Precisely because he had rarely been challenged in private, Ahenakew thought he could get away with his comments in public. But public or private, people need to know there's no audience for words that go against basic human rights.

Stephen

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Stephen Hammond, B.A, LL.B, CSP, is a speaker, trainer and author working in the field of workplace human rights. Articles, tips and his books Managing Human Rights At Work: 101 Practical Tips to Prevent Human Rights Disasters and Steps in the Rights Direction: 365 human rights celebrations and tragedies that inspired Canada and the world are available on his website www.stephenhammond.ca. Contact Stephen at 866-685-8338 or stephen@stephenhammond.ca