Opinion: Canada’s new vertical $10 bill
By Kristin Grant
Images of the prototype for the new vertical $10 bill have been released. Viola Desmond who was selected to grace the bill was chosen because of her role in standing up for racial equality, ironic given the imbalance of the bill’s design.
According to the Bank of Canada’s website: “Viola Desmond was a successful black businesswoman who was jailed, convicted and fined for defiantly refusing to leave a whites-only area of a movie theatre in 1946. Her court case was an inspiration for the pursuit of racial equality across Canada. Viola’s story is part of the permanent collection at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.”
Kudos to her, I am all for standing up for equality and human rights and that does deserve recognition. On one hand, as both a woman and minority, I applaud the selection of Viola Desmond, on the other hand, as First Nations, I am disheartened.
The Bank of Canada has also included an Eagle Feather on the back of the bill juxtaposed beside a picture of Winnipeg’s Museum of Human Rights. On their site, the Bank of Canada explains, “For many First Nations peoples in Canada, the eagle is believed to fly higher and see further than any other bird, and an eagle feather symbolizes ideals such as truth, power and freedom. It is intended to represent the ongoing journey toward recognizing rights and freedoms for Indigenous Peoples in Canada.”
It is nice to be recognized but my biggest issue with this is that you have to have a certain cultural understanding to get the symbolism, otherwise it is lost in translation. Unless someone is aware of the significance of Eagle Feathers in First Nation culture, they will just be left wondering ‘why is there a feather on the back of this bill’—if they even notice it.
To be fair, I am sure some people still don’t know who Desmond is despite her Heritage Minute. I am not saying let’s put an image of Elijah Harper holding a feather on our currency, but do something. The First Nations representation is far too subtle.
First Nations cultures have such a strong, rich, artistic community, so why couldn’t the Bank of Canada have done something with that and commission an artist to do some artwork? The Winnipeg’s Museum for Human Rights, which is on the back of the bill with our feather, actually has an exhibit featuring our youth called The Spirit Panel Project which is on right now.
Furthermore, not that I presume to speak for them, but where is the representation of the Asian population and that sad chapter of our history? Shouldn’t a bill lauding someone who fought for racial equality actually treat all races equally?
The Bank of Canada really missed an opportunity with this design to actually make a statement about racial equality instead of demonstrating just how unequal things still are.