Two Canadian men have learned they were switched at birth more than 40 years ago at a hospital in Manitoba.
According to CBC News, Leon Swanson and David Tait are both 41 years old and were raised by each other’s biological mother after being born three days apart in 1975 at the Norway House Indian Hospital about 280 miles north of Winnipeg. DNA tests confirmed the switch.
“We don’t have words,” he said. “Forty years gone … just distraught, confused angry.”
However, this is the second case of infants being switched at birth at the Norway House Indian Hospital in 1975.
In November, Luke Monias and Norman Barkman from Garden Hill First Nation found out that they were not the biological children of the parents raising them. It was actually this case that prompted Swanson and Tait, both friends, to get DNA tests, as well their long-standing suspicions that they may have been switched at birth.
Federal Health Minister Jane Philpott released a statement Friday, in which she said a federal investigation will be taking place. According to the publication, Norway House was the “birthing center” of northern Manitoba because it was the only northern community that had a hospital in the 1970s.
“Given these latest developments, the department will be moving quickly to engage the services of an independent third party to do a dedicated and thorough investigation of all available hospital records from the period to determine what happened and whether there is any other cause for concern beyond the two cases identified,” the statement read.
“The results of this review will be made public. Cases like this are an unfortunate reminder to Canadians of how urgent the need is to provide all Indigenous people with high-quality health care. The government of Canada remains deeply committed to renewing a nation-to-nation relationship with all Indigenous peoples. I offer my sympathy to the families in this difficult time.”
23 White Actors Miscast in Nonwhite Roles, From Mickey Rooney to Emma Stone (Photos)
Hollywood just doesn't seem to learn from its mistakes as it continues to cast white actors in nonwhite roles again and again. And again.
Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros., Roger Ebert, Beatrice Aguirre Zuniga
More caricature than character, Rooney starred as the buck-toothed, Japanese Mr. Yunioshi in the 1961 film, which has faced volumes of criticism since.
The "Jailhouse Rock" singer played a Native American rodeo rider in the 1968 comedy Western. Along with this miscasting, many also criticized the film's use of stereotypes and offensive humor.
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Peter Sellers in "The Party" (1968)
The English actor wore brown face for his role as Hrundi V. Bakshi, an Indian actor, in the comedy film. "The Party" was also called out for its racist humor and perpetuating South Asian stereotypes.
Schneider seems to play a different ethnicity in every Adam Sandler movie. In "The Waterboy" he was the "You can do it!" guy, in "Big Daddy," he was a Middle-Eastern deliveryman, and in "50 First Dates," he plays a native Hawaiian. Badly.
In the 2007 drama film, Jolie plays Mariane Pearl, a real-life journalist of Afro-Chinese-Cuban descent, though the actress herself is of mixed-European descent.
The movie follows a group of math students who come up with a card-counting strategy to win big in Vegas. While the movie had a predominantly white cast, the real-life MIT students were Asian American.
Sony
Jake Gyllenhaal in "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time" (2010) Gyllenhaal plays a Middle Eastern prince in the film, which many called "insulting" and "the perfect example of whitewashing."
Johnny Depp played a Native American in Disney's film, which sparked outrage among fans and critics despite the actor's claims that his great-grandmother had mostly Cherokee blood.
Scarlett Johansson, who consistently takes on roles for nonwhite actors, plays the Japanese lead in this lackluster film. Nevertheless, this miscasting sparked a larger conversation on Hollywood's whitewashing of Asian roles.
Paramount Pictures
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Rooney as Japanese? Stone as Chinese/Swedish/Hawaiian? TheWrap looks at history of racially misguided castings
Hollywood just doesn't seem to learn from its mistakes as it continues to cast white actors in nonwhite roles again and again. And again.