Our government is about to be ambushed by revolutionaries.
I've seen this before. Remember the '60s? The "new generation" rebelled against injustice. The old generation tried vainly to hold on to their prejudices, but once that ball began rolling toward civil rights, it was unstoppable. Today, the new revolutionaries are much younger: elementary school students. These rebels are standing up and speaking out in support of First Nations children.
Education is a powerful weapon. Unlike the colonial-centric "history" we were force-fed, today's aboriginal studies curriculum is more historically accurate. Students are learning Canada's dirty little secrets about our treatment of the First Nation. And they are not happy, particularly about the discrimination and inequity in funding that affects children just like them. Stephen Harper, be warned. Don't mess with kids.
I wrote a book for young people, Shannen and the Dream for a School, based on the true story of Shannen Koostachin of Attawapiskat. In 2007, her Grade 8 class campaigned to get their temporary portables replaced after our government broke a third promise to build a new school. Children do not like broken promises. The class travelled to Ottawa to meet with the Minister of Indian Affairs. After being told they weren't a priority, Shannen spoke out. People listened.
"How can he tell us that we don't have the right to a new school? All students in Canada deserve a learning environment that they are proud to attend, and that gives them hope. We want the same hope as every other Canadian student."
When students in the south heard through the miracle of modern media that reserve kids were not treated fairly, thousands jumped into the childled rights movement, waving placards and writing letters. It was clear: They were not going to quit. The ministry reversed its decision in 2009. The following year, while living offreserve to attend high school, Shannen died in a car accident, but her dream for equality and justice for children in every reserve across Canada lives on. When MP Charlie Angus introduced the motion, Shannen's Dream, in the House of Commons, Shannen's friend Chelsea Edwards said: "Shannen said that we shouldn't have to beg for equal rights. But people need to know what is happening on our reserves across Canada. It's not right. We need to change this."
Since the book's release, I have been telling Shannen's story in schools. I explain the reason for the portables - their old school was contaminated by diesel fuel for 20 years. Students learn that children on reserves receive less funding than provincial schools, at least $2,000 to $3,000 per child per year less. Then the hands go up. Why is the funding not fair? Why wasn't the leak fixed? Why do so many other reserves need schools? Why do we help poor people around the world and not in Canada? These kids just don't get it. Why is there such poverty, lack of housing, illness, despair? I don't get it, either.
Teachers tell me that many students are unaware that "Indians" still exist. One boy believed "the cowboys killed them all." Now students are learning about the nations of first settlers in North America, their cultures and spiritual practices, how trading and military relationships with the new settlers shaped and developed Canada. They learn about treaties negotiated to secure a better life for future generations and the inherently racist Indian Act.
It is the horror of residential schools that really boggles their minds. How could this have happened in Canada?
Last week, I visited Grade 6 students who had formed a club, the Dream Catchers, to support Shannen's Dream. "In my opinion, since we took their land and they helped the settlers survive, native people should receive more funding, not less," one boy said. When I mentioned the diamond mine near Attawapiskat, the class groaned. More hands flapped in the air. I wanted to hear their questions, but I had positive and hopeful stories to share.
I tell them about Wesley Prankard, 12, who raised money for a new playground in Attawapiskat. I say that Chelsea and five other aboriginal youth went to Geneva to speak to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child about the inequalities they face in Canada. Chelsea wrote on Facebook, "History is made. Watch out Harper and Duncan, you're both out of excuses now that they've heard our voices." Ouch!
Recently, the House of Commons voted unanimously to adopt Shannen's Dream, declaring First Nations children have an equal right to high-quality, culturally relevant education. When asked what she thought about the $275 million in the latest budget, Chelsea said it was a "sliver."
Would this step forward have been taken if Shannen and kids just like her had not challenged their government? When children stand up and speak the truth, they are impossible to ignore. Perhaps they don't grasp the complexities of problems. They are not overwhelmed by the impossibilities of the task ahead. Children are too young to be bogged down by history and have not yet learned to be racist. Their simplistic views may be dismissed as childish. But, as child prodigy Adora Svitak said, "The world needs 'childish' thinking: bold ideas, wild creativity, and especially optimism. We need to listen, as well as learn from kids."
During her meeting with the aboriginal affairs minister, Shannen said, "If you think the children are going to quit, you are wrong. We are going to continue until we have justice."
Power to the little people. Right on!
Original Article
Source: ottawa citizen
Author: Janet Wilson
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