Controversial Kinder Surprise a slap in the face

A native activist on P.E.I. who was dismayed by the cultural stereotyping of a toy in a Kinder Surprise says the company was quick to respond to his complaint.

The Kinder Surprise is a chocolate egg with a small toy inside, but when Julie Pellissier-Lush's three-year-old son Shawn opened a Kinder Surprise she bought him last week the surprise was not a pleasant one.

"As soon as I saw what it was, I just took it and said, 'No, this is not something you're going to be playing with,' and put it away," Pellissier-Lush told CBC News Thursday.

The tiny plastic toy is a figure of a native man brandishing a tomahawk. It comes with a frowning, war-painted face in the form of a tee pee.

Pellissier-Lush works at the Mi'kmaq Friendship Centre and grew up on P.E.I.'s Lennox Island Reserve. She said the toy is extremely offensive.

"The more I thought about it the more I thought, 20 years growing up, things haven't changed too much," she said.

She showed the toy to her uncle, native activist John Joe Sark. He immediately e-mailed the Kinder Surprise company to complain.

"The toy is going to be played with by kids from four years on," Sark commented, "and what you do is you perpetuate a stereotype at that age."

Although upset by the toy, Sark was pleased by the reply

"We are very sorry that a toy from our Kinder Surprise collection has been found to be offensive to individuals in the Canadian aboriginal community," the company responded in an e-mail.

"In response to your concerns, we will pull this particular toy from future production plans immediately."

Sark said the incident was a great opportunity to create a cultural awareness. The company also asked for material to help improve the representation of the aboriginal community. Sark is sending some more positive images from Mi'kmaq mythology.