In The Daily Observer of Wednesday, April 1, a story ran as an April Fool’s joke on the front page that upset many readers. It was intended to amuse and entertain, and not meant to offend anyone. We apologize if some found it offensive. Link
Some background from the Ottawa Citizen:
A Pembroke newspaper that drew criticism Wednesday for an April Fool’s joke about the discovery of a native burial ground has issued an apology. The Pembroke Daily Observer apologized Thursday after a representative from a native group and the Mayor of Pembroke both condemned the paper’s attempt at humour.
“In The Daily Observer of Wednesday, April 1, a story ran as an April Fool’s joke on the front page that upset many readers. It was intended to amuse and entertain, and not meant to offend anyone. We apologize if some found it offensive,” said the apology on the paper’s website.
The newspaper’s annual April Fool’s joke Wednesday said construction at Pembroke Regional Hospital was halted Tuesday with the discovery of “an ancient native burial ground.”
The fabricated story went on to attribute quotes to Chuck Strahl, minister of Indian and Northern Affairs, and Kirby Whiteduck, chief of the nearby Algonquins of Pikwakanagan. According to the story, Strahl said Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke MP Cheryl Gallant could not attend a meeting on the matter because she was too “pale.” It also said that native protesters had set up tents across from the construction site.
Okwarakon Sharbot, of the Haudenoshonee Confederacy, near Belleville, said Wednesday she was “appalled that somebody would put that in a newspaper that they were considering even digging up ancestral remains.” …
Thanks, Steve!
