Air Canada apologizes after removing AFN National Chief's headdress from cabin
'Our headdresses don’t belong in garbage bags,' National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak wrote on Facebook
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Air Canada has apologized for a “regrettable” incident involving the National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak.
Woodhouse Nepinak was flying from Montreal to Fredericton, N.B., Thursday, when her headdress, which was in a case, was removed from the cabin and placed in a plastic bag by airline staff.
Woodhouse Nepinak shared the incident in a Facebook post. “I won’t be letting anyone take away my headdress or case again,” she wrote. “Air Canada needs a protocol for First Peoples so that we are not harassed for our sacred items. Our headdresses don’t belong in garbage bags by airlines.”
She says the airline responded to her complaints by offering her a 15 per cent discount on her next flight.
“It must have been a generic response,” Woodhouse Nepinak said in an interview, calling the entire experience “humiliating” and “unbelievable.”
Photos in the post show the case being carried by airline staff on the tarmac, while wrapped in a plastic bag.
The post quickly gained traction on social media.
Alvin Fiddler, grand chief of Nishnawbe Aski Nation, called the incident “shameful.”
“I believe you owe our National Chief an apology,” Fiddler posted to X, formerly Twitter, and tagged Air Canada. “And please ensure all members of your team are aware and follow all protocols on handling of sacred items. Miigwetch.”
In media reports, the airline said it had followed up with the national chief to apologize and better understand the situation, while adding it’s also reviewing its policies and following up on the matter internally.
“Air Canada understands the importance of accommodating customers with items and symbols of sacred cultural significance, and in the past the chiefs have been able to travel while transporting their headdresses in the cabin,” the statement said.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the incident “unacceptable” and a “mistake” on the part of Air Canada.
Trudeau said the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 calls to action are not just about the federal government, but for industry and Canadians to be responsible partners who have a sense of understanding about the cultural importance of items like this.
Perry Bellegarde, a former AFN national chief, told the Globe and Mail that it’s “essential for (Air Canada) to greatly strengthen their anti-racism training for all personnel from the flight attendants to the CEO.”
He added that he has travelled “very often” with a headdress in its case and “never experienced any difficulties transporting it as carry-on luggage.”
“I’d be pleased to advise Air Canada on a good path forward,” he added.
The federal minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, Gary Anandasangaree, said the airline must “make things right” with the national chief.
Anandasangaree told The Canadian Press he is “outraged” that the incident occurred and added it isn’t the first time ceremonial items have been “treated improperly.”
Woodhouse Nepinak, who is from Pinaymootang First Nation, Manitoba, was elected national chief in December 2023. She previously served as the AFN’s Manitoba Regional Chief.
On New Year’s Day, Woodhouse Nepinak received the headdress in a transfer ceremony by the Blackfoot Confederacy of the Piikani Nation in Alberta. The Assembly of First Nations called the headdress transfer “one of the highest honours among First Nations ceremonies for leadership.”
“It validates and celebrates Chiefs’ achievements, as the eagle feathers that make up the headdress are sacred and have been blessed to help support leadership in their travels and challenges,” the Assembly noted in a news release.
Former justice minister David Lametti told CBC that “there aren’t many chiefs across Canada who would have that kind of headdress.”
“It is critically important that it be treated as a sacred object, and I don’t understand why this would have been treated with anything less than the appropriate amount of dignity that it deserves,” he said.
In a follow up Facebook post, Woodhouse Nepinak showed the headdress and its case had been returned to the cabin and was being stored above her seat.
“Megwetch for prayers,” she wrote. “Made it home to my family.”
With additional reporting by The Canadian Press
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