Minister ‘outraged’ as AFN national chief says headdress taken from Air Canada cabin

OTTAWA — The federal minister of Crown-Indigenous relations is calling on Air Canada to “make things right” with the national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, who said her headdress was removed from an airplane cabin during a flight this week.

Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak, who leads the advocacy organization, said in a social-media post Thursday her headdress and its case were taken away and put in a garbage bag.

She said the incident left her with hurt feelings, and Air Canada needs a protocol for First Nations peoples so they are not “harassed” when carrying sacred items.

“If I get kicked off the flight today, then I will because I won’t be letting them take my headdress or case away from me again,” she wrote.

“Thank you to the kind Canadians on the plane who stuck up for me and tried to help.”

Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Gary Anandasangaree said on social media Friday he is “outraged” that the incident occurred.

But he noted it isn’t the first time ceremonial items have been “treated improperly.”

“Everyone should be treated with dignity and respect, and I expect Air Canada to make this right,” he wrote.

Air Canada said in a statement they reached out directly to Woodhouse Nepinak to apologize and “better understand” her experience. They added they’ve also followed up on the matter internally.

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

“In the past the chiefs have been able to travel while transporting their headdress in their cases in the cabin, but this time the case was difficult to carry in the cabin due to stowage space limitations on the Dash-8 aircraft.”

The airline said the headdress itself remained with Woodhouse Nepinak.

The company also said it’ll be reviewing its policies as a result of this “regrettable incident” to ensure “special items such as this” can consistently remain in the cabin with travellers.

Speaking to reporters Friday, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said he met with Woodhouse Nepinak by chance at an airport in Montreal shortly after the incident, and she shared with him how she felt “disrespected.”

He said he supports calls from the national chief for a policy to ensure a situation like this never happens again, and that there are “far too many” examples of Indigenous Peoples being disrespected.

NDP MP Leah Gazan said it’s important for airline workers to have cultural competency and ensure proper protocols for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.

“Canada is rich with diversity and the airline needs to reflect that, and respect that, through action.”

Alessia Passafiume, The Canadian Press