Sask. teacher group driving anti-racism effort with conference in Saskatoon

As an Indigenous person who grew up on a reserve with a single mom and alcoholism in her family, Sarah Hunt says she fits the stereotype of someone who might continue to be marginalized throughout her life.  

An assistant professor in the Institute for Critical Indigenous Studies at the University of British Columbia, Hunt said young people with her background are often considered "disadvantaged" or "at risk."

It's a perception she believes is detrimental to the way young people are treated in the classroom.

"I think that those ideas can change the way that we work with young people if we only see them as being at risk," said Hunt.

"If we only see them through, kind of, 'What's wrong with them?' or something we need to fix instead of seeing what they're capable of and what potential they have."  

Saskatoon anti-racism conference

On Friday, Hunt was the keynote speaker at a Saskatoon conference aimed at finding ways to stop racism filtering into the education system.

About 200 teachers and representatives from the education, justice, health and social services sectors were at the event.

SAFE committee member Sheelah McLean, who is a teacher in the Saskatoon public school system, said the conference was originally attended by mostly teachers but has grown to include the wider public and other sectors.

"I do think that education is key to stopping racism in this province," she said.

"So many of us grow up and are socialized into stereotypes, particularly of Indigenous people and people of colour."

But McLean, who is a co-founder of the Indigenous advocacy group Idle No More, said the goal of the conference was also to build networks between relevant groups, partly to improve supports for anti-racism workers.

"It can be difficult work in Saskatchewan, there really is so much work to do," she said.

Racism in Saskatchewan

Friday's conference was partly sponsored by the City of Saskatoon, which launched its own anti-racism campaign earlier this year.

The $21,000 campaign called "I am the Bridge" sparked heated online debate when some residents were angered by anti-racism billboards erected across the city in July.

Racism in Saskatchewan was also brought to the fore when dozens of racist comments were posted on social media after the death of 22-year-old Colten Boushie, who was from the Red Pheasant Cree Nation. The comments prompted Saskatchewan politicians to call for calm.

McLean believes the Saskatchewan government is contributing to systemic racism in the province, saying cuts to funding and programs such as the NORTEP/NORPAC teaching school disproportionately affect Indigenous and marginalized people. 

She said some factors leading to racism are specific to Saskatchewan, adding that those elements should be part of the conversation.

Anti-racism training for teachers

University of Saskatchewan professor of education Verna St. Denis was one of the speakers at the conference.

She was inspired by Hunt's presentation, agreeing that labelling and viewing Indigenous youth as being disadvantaged and "at risk" can shift the perception of who and what created the risk.

The issue of language was raised last week when a Saskatoon Catholic Schools teacher apologized for "lack of judgment" for giving Grade 3 students a worksheet with references to "Indians" and "Eskimos."

The school district said the teacher has since used the worksheet as a learning tool to discuss the importance of language.

St. Denis said part of her work is to provide anti-racism training to practising teachers, who she said were not always aware of how racism could find its way into the classroom. 

"They could be, and they are, implicated and reproducing racism without even realizing it actually," said St. Denis.

"And then when they are provided that opportunity to say, 'What does it mean?' And 'What are the historical and contemporary practices', it gives them insight into how their own practice or their own institutions are engaging in racial profiling, racism."

Day by day

Sarah Hunt said all individuals have a role to play by making changes in their own lives on a day-to-day basis.

For people working to stop racism through their jobs, Hunt believes the conference is one way to be supportive.

"I think the more people can come together to do that work with each other and to learn where those ideas come from, how they're embedded in the Indian Act and residential schools and to understand all of that forming the society that we live in today, I think we'll then have more tools to change things."