Young perspectives

I mentioned in my last blog that people in the health care system tend to avoid situations and conversations where you could potentially say something that could indirectly/accidentally offend somebody. This can be applied in any situation and in taking this course I am pleased to say with gaining insight into the native culture that it has sparked comfortable conversations outside of school. Attending university I had plenty of opportunity to meet new people, and a common topic that comes up is sharing stories about going through high school. A friend of mine who is 18 years old, Helen (changed name to protect identity) was sharing stories of going to school on a reserve compared to going to a “regular” school. It was sad to learn that a good majority of her peers share a common belief that if you go to a school on a reserve there are many things that you can’t accomplish.

She shared that it is common for kids to say that schooling on a reserve is much easier than going to school off reserve. Helen said this is causing a snowball effect since kids tend not to bother trying. They believe they wouldn’t have a chance of getting accepted into post-secondary education regardless because “it is known that reserve schools are a lot easier” therefore; a high mark on reserve wouldn’t mean much to a university if the common belief is that their education has lower expectations. This would be such a disappointing belief to have embedded in your mind, when even if you do well in school that it wouldn’t matter in the long run.

Helen spent her junior high years going to school on a reserve, then decided to go off reserve for high school to gain diversity. She explained that the transition was good for her; she is an extremely outgoing and funny girl who gets along with anybody. Another thing that helped other kids, sadly, was that if they acted “white”. Now, any teen struggles to find their place and fit in during those years of your life. I couldn’t imagine living practically two separate lives with two different personalities. Helen explained that she was guilty of suppressing her culture when she was around certain people because she didn’t want to be negatively judged.

Now, being a student in university, she said that she is more open to expressing her culture. Another friend of mine, Lauren; we will say, expressed similar experiences. She said that she was easily accepted by her peers in school off of reserve because she was “light skinned”. Lauren expressed that it was sad to see her other native friends not get invited to the same places as her because they weren’t “lucky enough” to be lighter-skinned like herself.

Now; Lauren is in her mid-twenties and embraces her culture. She participates in Powwows and is proud to practice traditional dancing. She loves that she can do things now that her grandparents avoided doing because they had no other choice but to hide their culture. She said that now, she feels it is cool to be native; which is what Winnipeg’s most (an upcoming Canadian rap group) describes in CBC’s 8^th fire “Indigenous in the City”.  I also had the pleasure of seeing A Tribe Called Red two summers ago at Evolve (a music festival held in Antigonish) and again at Osheaga (Montreal). They are extremely well-known for incorporating traditional aboriginal music with hip-hop and are known to speak out the history of First Nations peoples. Check out some of their music here.

Now, keep in mind this was two peoples experiences and perspectives that I felt was important to share. If you want to hear more stories of how indigenous peoples are challenging stereotypes, click here to watch this episode on 8^th fire.