'Part of my culture': Cree woman refused service at Sask. bar for traditional face tattoo
CBC
A Cree woman says she was kicked out of a Prince Albert bar because of the cultural tattoo on her chin. Sara Carriere-Burns is from James Smith Cree Nation in Saskatchewan and lives in Prince Albert. On March 25, she joined family members at the Prince Albert Brewing Company (PABCo) tavern. Carriere-Burns said a server took her order of a diet coke and water, but did not return with the beverages. Instead, a man — who later identified himself as the manager — came to the table.
"He was like, 'I'm sorry, I don't want to be the one to have to tell you this, but you need to leave our establishment'," Carriere-Burns recalled on Tuesday.
"When I asked what the issue was, he said, 'We don't allow facial tattoos'."
Carriere-Burns said she mentioned it was a cultural tattoo and then asked to speak with someone higher up. When the man went to get an owner, she asked her Goddaughter to record the follow-up interaction on her phone.LISTEN | Sara Carriere-Burns shares her experience of being denied service at a Prince Albert pub due to her face tattoo:
In that video, shared later on Facebook, the camera is pointed towards the family member while Carriere-Burns says the voice of owner Robert McLeod is heard speaking to her.
"The number one rule in our dress code is no facial tattoos," McLeod said after being asked about the policy.
Carriere-Burns responded that the traditional tattoo is "part of my culture," at which point McLeod doubled down.
"I don't care," he replied. "Put makeup on and cover it up. It's not allowed in our bar. I don't care what your culture is, if you look at our dress code, the number one rule is no facial tattoos."
The owner is heard telling Carriere-Burns she is welcome to return once she has covered the tattoo with makeup.
"I just don't want to see it," he is heard saying, before adding he sees people with "shit written all over their faces" everyday. Carrier-Burns says she left the establishment shortly after.
Carriere-Burns told CBC while she has dealt with discrimination and racism before, this situation involved someone using power and authority to silence her.
It was also the first time her cultural tattoo received negative feedback.
"I was really in shock. Like I couldn't believe the way he was speaking to me and I couldn't understand why he was so angry," she said.
"I've never been in a place before where I couldn't say what I needed to say ... he just didn't want any part of it."
