First Nations student reprimanded after not standing for O Canada

A Winnipeg high school student who was reprimanded and removed fromclassover her decision not to stand during the national anthem hopes talking aboutthesituation sparks change and awareness.

Each morning, whenO Canadaplays over the speakers at River East Collegiate, 15-year-old SkylaHart remains seated.

"This country is a colonized country and I don't want to stand for a colonized country," Skyla said. "People always say, like, it was a long time ago, [but] we're still going through it all the trauma from it."

It's a decision she said she made in Grade 5 to honour herCree and Ojibway ancestors and herculture, as well asto recognize ongoing injustices Indigenous people face.

The Grade 10 student said the choice not to stand hasn't been a problem until this fall.

First, Skyla said she was pulled out of class one day by a teacher after refusingto stand for the anthem. She was told to stand in the hallway, she said, but "I would still be standing forO Canadaif I stand in the hallway, so I chose to sit down in the hallway."

That's whenanother teacher cameby and yelled at her to get up, she said. She returned to class when the anthem was over.

"It made me feel upset, angry," Skyla said. "The teacher kept on telling me she respected what I do.But if she respected me, she wouldn't have pulled me out of class to stand in the hallway."

A few days later,Skylasaid she was reprimanded again on her way to class;when O Canadabegan to play and she kept walking, ateacher popped out of another classroom and got angry withher for not stopping.

Once shearrived to her classroom, Skyla said the teacher wanted her to stand in the hallway until the anthem finished.

"I went in and sat down respectfully," she said. "I don't think it's right for me to stand in the hallway."

End anthem in schools, mother says

Skyla's mother says the situation is upsetting,but she's not surprised by it.

"To me, this is just an extension of residential school. We're still oppressing our children," who arenot able "to practise who they are," said Raven Hart.

She said she is proud of Skyla for having the courage to takea seat and a stand against the treatment of Indigenous people.

Indigenous people across Canada still face injustices, Hart said, ranging frommicroaggressions when they walk into storesto the recent discovery of hundreds of unmarked gravesat the sites of former residential schools.

The familyknows the painful legacy of Canada's residential school system first-hand.

Raven Hart is a residential school survivor herself, attending herlast three years of high school at the Lebret Indian Residential School in Saskatchewan before it closed in the 1990s.Her mother, Lyna Hart, was also a residential school survivor.

No child should have to rise for O Canada in school,saidHart, notingshe would like to see an end to the national anthem in schools altogether.

"Everything that O Canada stands for is a lie. [Canada] was built on, you know, the demise of Indigenous people" and displacement "from their lands, from their language and their culture," said Hart. "We really need to recognize that."

Skylamet with the school's principal last week after teachers reported what had happened. Hartsaid she was troubled that Skyla was portrayedas acting defiantly, instead of being viewed with compassion for her decision.

Skyla said the principal understood"where I was coming from" and "was very respectful," andinvited herto help improve awareness and elevate Indigenous experiences in the school.

The teen plansto take up that offer."We need to be recognized more in the community," Skyla said."I would really like the opportunity to educate my school."

Division offers 'complete support'

In an email to CBC News, a spokesperson for the River East Transcona School Division, which overseesRiver East Collegiate, saidit offers"complete support" to the student.

The division's Indigenous academic achievement staff, along withelders and knowledge keepers, will be "working with River East Collegiate to build staff capacity knowledge," the spokespersonsaid.

Raven Hart said the school principal also reached out to her to express support for Skyla.

Shesaid she will be satisfied when she sees action, includingthe creation of more Indigenous programming and language education. The division currentlyoffers language classes in English,French, German, Ukrainian, Japanese and Spanish.

"When a child walks into a school and sees nothing that reflects them, it's like looking into a mirror and seeing no reflection," Hart said.

Further, as theNational Day for Truth and Reconciliation approaches, Hart said shehopes people take time on Sept. 30 to learn.

"Utilize that day to really educate yourselves on what has happened to Indigenous people and why things are the way they are," she said.

SkylasaidO Canadawould need to be reinvented before she could stand up for it.

"I want them to bring up all the trauma that we've been through," shesaid."And that we're warriors."

The teen also encourages Indigenous and non-Indigenous students to take action in their own schools when the anthem plays.

"Don't be scared to sit down," she said.

First Nations student reprimanded after not standing for O Canada

3 years ago

Duration 2:48

A Winnipeg high school student who was reprimanded and removed from class over her decision not to stand during the national anthem hopes talking about the situation sparks change and awareness.