I just returned from the career fair today, and I am absolutely appalled that Trent University would provide space for a gun company called Savage Arms. It is bad enough that our university would provide the space for a weapons company to promote itself in an educational environment, but it is absolutely unacceptable that a company clearly using racist imagery would be permitted to advertise on our campus.
Though the company is named after a man named Arthur Savage, who is incidentally heralded for helping to conquer the Aborigine wilderness‚of Australia, the Indian head logo‚ (complete with a full feather headdress) very distinctly implies a connection between Indigenous Peoples and savagery, perpetuating one of the oldest racist stereotypes about the First Nations of this land.
As Indigenous persons within Canada, especially women, continue to face violence at a disproportionate rate, Trent should not be hosting an arms dealer at our school. I sincerely hope that the next career fair does not include companies proud of their colonizing history, especially those using racist imagery to sell guns.
Matthew Davidson
