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“Two sisters from Vancouver Island say their First Nations heritage led to them feeling alienated in the B.C. school system, unsupported by both teachers and students throughout their high school experience.
Selena and Valeen Jules, 17 and 20 respectively, are members of the Nuu’chah’nulth First Nation. Neither had many friends while in school, and both say they felt a lack of encouragement from their teachers, despite a passion for learning.
Selena’s experience led her to drop out before graduating, and Valeen remembers several examples when teachers’ behaviour left her feeling like an outsider.
The sisters spoke out about their experiences as part of Everyday Racism, a week-long series on CBC Radio’s On the Coast.”
– CBC News, First Nations sisters say they felt left out by B.C. school system.
“For too many First Nations students in British Columbia, finishing high school means receiving something called an “Evergreen Certificate,” not a proper diploma. The certificates were originally intended for special needs students.
The government does not determine which students received the certificates, it’s the school boards, the schools and the teachers.
The province’s auditor general has had some harsh words for the practice, calling it the “racism of low expectations.””
– CBC Radio, B.C. moves to address ‘racism of low expectations’ for indigenous students.
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Download the 18″x24″ poster (.pdf), Indian Country 52 #23 – Systemic Racism.
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Indian Country 52
Indian Country 52 is a weekly project by David Bernie that uses the medium of posters that promote issues and stories in Indian Country.
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This work by David Bernie is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. You may download, share, and post the images under the condition that the works are attributed to the artist.
