A Conservative Party fundraising image. The background was later changed to a picture of Bernard Valcourt.
Some inukshuks last longer than others – and this one's time was fleeting.
The Conservative Party of Canada launched a recent fundraising campaign to capitalize on its members' frustrations with what the government says is a lack of transparency on the part of First Nations leaders.
The party created a website featuring a picture of an imposing grey inukshuk – the man-shaped pile of stones that, in olden days, served as points of reference for navigation and was later the symbol of the Vancouver Olympics.
Beside the inukshuk were the words First Nations Transparency followed by a boast that the Conservative government's new First Nations Financial Transparency Act is "getting results" and has uncovered large bonuses received by chiefs and their families. At the top of the page was a button that could be clicked by those wishing to make a donation.
But inukshuks are not symbolic of the First Nations. They are objects created by the Inuit.
When the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) pointed out the cultural incongruity, the picture of the inukshuk was quickly replaced by a picture of Aboriginal Affairs Minister Bernard Valcourt.
Several First Nations have refused to comply with the provisions of the Act and the Onion Lake Cree Nation has gone to Federal Court in an attempt to have it overturned. Candice Maglione, an Onions Lake representative, said she and her colleagues laughed at the Conservative faux pas.
But it shows that the Conservative government "has lost touch with (the people) who they have a treaty relationship with," said Ms. Maglione. And for the party to use the First Nations Financial Transparency Act to try to raise funds means race relations "are going to be further strained with our people," she said.
The Conservative Party did not respond to requests for comment.