Historians say Canadian aboriginals continually marginalized by Euro-Canadians

Two University of Regina authors say colonialism and racism are dominant threads that weave through the fabric of Canada's English-language newspapers, colouring coverage of aboriginal stories from the Northwest Rebellion to the Oka crisis.

The result is prevalence of negative stereotypes that haunt race relations with aboriginal people to this day, they say.

History professor Mark Cronlund Anderson and art history associate professor Carmen Robertson surveyed 42 local, regional and national daily newspapers from 1869 to the present.

They looked at how aboriginal people were portrayed in historic events like the rebellion, which led to the 1885 hanging of Manitoba Métis leader Louis Riel, the 1974 Bended Elbow standoff in Kenora and the 1990 Oka crisis, as well as in editorials, columns and letters to the editor for the past 140 years....