Racism rears its ugly head STICKS and stones will break my bones, but names will never hurt me. Yeah, right. That tired old maxim, forged in a cauldron of stiff-upper-lip- ness and wielded by headmas- ters, phys-ed teachers and par- ents to shield their young charges from the wounds of words, is nothing more than a catchy placebo. Ask anyone who has felt the sting of a racially- motivated epithet. Ask anyone who has been called fat, skinny, bald, short, stupid, flat- chested or pigeon- chested. Dime- store psychiatrists will tell you for a nickel that the sting of such verbal attacks lingers long after flesh and bones have healed. As society huitles towards a new millennium, some would have you believe we live in a kinder, gentivr world — a world wher: children are coior-blind, a world where respect for your {ellow citizen is the rule railer than the exception. Lip service all. Put your head back in the ground. Pungent racist comments stil! cloud the air above play- grounds, sport fields and arenas. This past summer, two iNorth Shore lacrosse teams ~~ one pro and one minor league -— "became caught up in this reality. By no means is lacrosse thie sole sport in which such racial- ly-motivated incidents occur, however the two incidents dis- cussed on this page underscore the reality of how far we still have to go. — Andrew McCredie Sunday, August 30, 1996 — North Shore News — 3 7 4 NORTH Shore Indians fans pounded their instruments unabated at the team’s final home playoff game earlier this month. Pictured above are (left to right) Evelyn Joseph-Tokur, 15-month-old Melina Joseph, Kathy Joseph and Chantel Joseph. Silencing the dru Robert Galster News Reporter robert@nsnews.com THE North Shore Indians succumbed to the Victoria Shamrocks in a spirited six-game series earlier this month, but ugly memories continue to linger in the minds of their fans. The problems started during the third game of the series in Victoria. Indians fans attended the game with the drums that have defined Indians games for decades. However, Victoria officials decided the din cre- ated by the ceremonial instruments was just too much. The next game in the series was played on the North Shore, bur Victoria officials were scheming to silence the drums in time for the Shamrocks next home game. The Indians fan turn-out was not great for the game with only sever’ making the trip. When they arrived for the game, they were told they had to sit in a specified, cordoned-off sectien of Victoria’s Memorial Arena. They were greeted by jeeting Victoria fans Fans’ instruments banned from Memorial Arena hurling insults and in some cases racial slurs at the small group. “It was kind of surprising be sectioned off. I was kind of insulted,” said Shervl Rivers, who was among the small group of Indzins fans at the game. “It was bizarre to see something like that... T saw a lot of racism that's for surc.” Rivers said 2 woman approached the huddled Indians fans later in the contest and apologized on behalf of the Victoria fans. Although Rivers said she has seen “too many games to count,” she has never had an experience as distasteful as the Victoria incident. The seven ardent fans were so exasperated by their experi- ence, they decided to boycort the singing of the national anthem and refused to stand up for it with the rest of the fans. As it curned our the Canadian flag was focated directly behind the small group of defiant Indians fans, which result- ed in the majority of the Victoria fans facing them during the rendition of O Canada. “It was O Canada our home and native land and we had to be segregated like that,” said Rivers. League officials later met with both teams and decided that North Shore fans could bang their drums only after the Indians scored a goal or were in a powerplay or short-handed situation. Suzanne Jacobs was also at the game in Victoria and was likewise raken aback by their reception in Victoria. “The grossest game I’ve ever attended in 25 years as a fan of the Indians,” said Jacobs during the sixth game of the series at Lonsdale Arena. “1 said we should do that to the Shamrocks fans but we're not like that.” The drum restrictions were lifted in the con- fines of Lonsdale Arena two nights later, The Indians lost to the Shamrocks that night, but their fans’ drums were out in full force, urging the home squad on. a . Cause of Midget B melee unclear Birth of a . Andrew MeCredie editor andrew@nsnews.com THE most disturbing aspect of a braw! at the July 19 boys midget-lacrosse championship game isn’t so much the near-riot itself, it’s that no one wants to talk about it. | The British Columbia Lacrosse Association * (BCLA) final pitting North Vancouver against Juan de Fuca was stopped midway through the final peri- od when fights breke out in the stands. At the time, Juan de Fuca was well ahead of North Vancouver on: the scoreboard. The ill-will in rhe stands spilled over onto the Queen’s Park Arena floor, prompting league offi- "* als to end the game and disqualify both teams “from the tournament. Immediately following the game both teams received unprecedented year-long suspensions. The third-place team, White Rock, was declared ’ ‘provincial champs, but they did not receive the tro- ~ phy — it was broken in the melce. -- “The BGLA issued a terse one-page press release following the incident. Phone calls to adults involved in the game have gone unreturned, _ One parent of a North Vancouver player, who spoke about the fight on the condition of anonymi- ty, said che game-ending brawl could have been avoided had league officials taken a pro-active posi- tion. “The reason the (North Vancouver) team got - frustrated was because of the refs,” he said. “They weren’t calling anything. B.C. Lacrosse was warned thar if the refs didn’r start calling the rough stuff the players were going to start fighting.” But others who were at the game report the match that lir the fuse on the fight was sparked by North Vancouver supporters beating their drums. It appears some fans took exception to the drum- ming, and it was from this conflict that the fighting in. North Shore team’s have a long and distin- guished history of fielding squads with native play- ers. Both the Squamish and Burrard bands consid- er the game of box lacrosse their sport, and band. me:nbers have excelled at the game for a good part of this century. BCLA president Randy Radonich, who wasn’t at the Midget B final game, said information he has received while investigating the incident indicates North Vancouver supporters could be to blame for the melee. “The only thing I’ve been told is that North Shore fans moved around the arena with their drums,” the league president said. “I've been told these are ceremonial drums bur 1 don’t see how they fit into a game situation.” Radonich adds that under Workers’ Compensation Board guidelines sustained drum- ming for 45 minutes is considered excessive and possible damaging to those in the arena. “We threw a guy our with an air horn prior to the game, and [ don’t really sce any difference between an air horn and drums,” Radonich said. He added thar appeals of the team suspensions have been filed, and the league will address the entire matter in two weeks time. “Pve since discovered we only have the power to hand down a maximum of five-game suspen- sions,” said Radonich. However, the league president said he hopes someone puts the issue of racism on the table dur- ing the hearing into the incident. “It’s no more a touchy issue than gender,” he said. “We’re all lacrosse players here — I don’t see any difference in players if they are caucasians or natives or whatever.” The president added: “I don’t care who invent- ed the game. The rules apply equally to everyone.” game beat | JACOBS ... first to drum Andrea Jacobs, a member of the Squamish Nation, was the first to start bringing a drum to the games. . “I just got tired of sitting around,” said Jacobs. “It. was just something to do.” Although her reasons were simple, something about the . sound of the ccremonial bang- ing caught the cars and imagina- tions of others in the audience and a tradition was born.”