When you think of Canada, don't you think of peaceful people? And just? My grandfather was from Nova Scotia, so that's how I always thought of Canadians. Well, Canada has had the same attitude toward First Nations peoples as the U.S. has - "kill the Indian, save the man," and all the abuses that went along with boarding schools. They also have a huge problem with Native women disappearing.
Well, when I read this article it really made me think of classic boarding school abuse, except it's not 100 or 50 or 20 years ago, it's LAST WEEK!
Read on and get pissed off. You can find the whole article on the CBC news here.
A Thunder Bay woman is demanding an explanation after a teacher's aide at her son's school cut his long hair — an action her lawyer says is clearly assault while the Crown insists there are no grounds for charges.
CBC has agreed to the mother's request to remain anonymous.
The seven-year-old boy had chin-length hair before the incident last month. His mother said staff at McKellar Park Central Public School were aware her son was letting his hair grow so that he could take part in traditional First Nations dancing.
The mother told CBC News she was stunned when her son told her it was a teacher's assistant who lopped off 10 centimetres of his hair.
"I said, 'Why did she do this? Did she say anything?'" said the mother. "And he said, 'No, and after she cut my hair, she took me by the shoulders and forced me to stand in front of the mirror. She made me stand there and said look at you now.'"
Here is a statement posted in the comments section by someone who knows what he's talking about:
The Canadian Justice system and the school board are part of the systemic problem, a double standard.
There many questions needing to be asked. What are the school board policies and rules of conduct for staff towards students? What experience, if any, do the teachers and administrators have with First Nations cultural protocols and traditions. These would be First Nations policies and rules of behavior.
For First Nations groups the body is sacred as it is for many other cultures. More specifically, the hair of a First Nations person is directly connected to the spirit of that person. Only a family member is permitted to touch some one's hair.
This teacher's aid violated a sacred cultural protocol. We hope this aid has learned from this, but by not responding with equity, we endorse the wrongs of the past. This cultural violation screams a need for systemic reforms of cultural inclusion within both the justice system and the educational system.
William Morin
Chief Administrator
First Peoples National Party of Canada
fpnpoc.ca
Why in the world would a teacher's aide cut a child's hair without getting parental permission first? Hey, that's just basic.
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