AFN chief says Air Canada offered him 15% discount after his headdress was mishandled

OTTAWA – After the national chief of the Assembly of First Nations complained to Air Canada about how staff treated her and her ceremonial headdress on a flight this week, she says the airline responded by offering her a 15 percent discount. cent on your next flight.

“It must have been a generic response,” Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak said in an interview, calling the entire experience “humiliating” and “unbelievable.”

Woodhouse Nepinak said in a social media post Thursday that her headdress and case were taken and placed in a trash bag.

She clarified on Friday that the case was removed from the flight, but that she was able to hold her headdress throughout the trip after pleading with staff.

Air Canada said in a statement Friday morning that it contacted Woodhouse Nepinak directly to apologize and “better understand” his experience. He added that he is also following up on the matter internally and reviewing his policies.

During the flight from Fredericton to Montreal on Wednesday, the national chief said an Air Canada staff member approached her and said, “You can’t have that here.”

Woodhouse Nepinak said she told them she would not part with her headdress.

Still, the crew took it and its case and put garbage bags around it, he said, before he managed to convince them that they should remove the headdress.

Photos Woodhouse Nepinak posted online show the case covered in a clear plastic bag, and staff members dragging it across the tarmac to be loaded under the plane.

“I was a little stunned at that moment,” she said.

“There were a lot of Canadians trying to help me at the time and they realized they shouldn’t handle my items like that.”

“This was a mistake that I know Air Canada is investigating right now,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said of the incident during an unrelated news conference Friday in Bromont, Quebec.

“It’s an unfortunate situation that I hope leads to some learning, not just from Air Canada, but from a lot of different institutions.”

Trudeau said the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 calls to action should push the industry and Canadians to be responsible partners who understand the cultural importance of issues like this.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh told reporters in Toronto that he met Woodhouse Nepinak by chance at a Montreal airport shortly after the incident, and she told him how she felt “disrespected.”

He said he supports the national chief’s calls for a policy that ensures a situation like this never happens again, adding that there are “too many” examples of disrespect for indigenous people.

Nishnawbe Aski Nation Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler called the ordeal “shameful.”

And Cody Thomas, the grand chief of the Confederation of Treaty Six First Nations, said he is “deeply concerned and disappointed.”

“It is essential that employees are educated about the diverse cultures and traditions of the passengers they serve to ensure that such incidents are never repeated,” Thomas said in a statement.

Air Canada said it is looking to learn from the “regrettable incident” and ensure that “special items like this” can consistently remain in the cabin with travelers.

“Air Canada understands the importance of providing customers with items and symbols of sacred cultural significance,” the statement said.

“In the past, bosses could travel while carrying their headdress in their cases in the cabin, but this time the case was difficult to carry in the cabin due to storage space limitations on the Dash-8 aircraft.”

Woodhouse Nepinak called her headdress one of the highest honors First Nations people can receive, noting it’s not something you can just buy in a store.

“When I wear it, I represent and speak for our people,” he said.

“Having it there (on the plane) and having all these different people handle it, that’s not the way we handle our items. … It is a matter of respect”.

When asked why she decided to speak publicly about the incident, Woodhouse Nepinak said this situation is not one she wants to be in, but “the Creator put it in my lap to go through, and I’m walking through it with the hope that we get out.” of this better.”

He said he spoke to the airline’s president and CEO on Friday morning and told him they needed to do better, including appointing a First Nations person to their board of directors.

He also wants staff to have intercultural training.

Woodhouse Nepinak said she hopes to meet with Air Canada again to discuss the saga and is inviting the person who made her headdress to join her.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 26, 2024.