Squaw title irks leader
WINNIPEG - Debate has erupted in Winnipeg's aboriginal community over
the title of a play about racism against native women. The play is
called Those Damn Squaws. Objections are being raised by a male native
leader who says the title mocks aboriginal women. But the makers of
the production, all aboriginal women, say the title was deliberately
chosen because it reflects the reality of how native women are often
put down. "I've talked to lots of women about the title of the play
and a lot of them thought there wasn't a more appropriate title for
it, that we hit it dead on," Monica Marx, artistic director of Red
Roots Community Theatre, said yesterday. But Nelson Sanderson, who
works in the human rights field, said the title sends a message to
non-natives that it's OK to use a racial slur.