We Don't Want You in Our Schools

The practice of pushing Indigenous students out of schools due to poor attendance or academic struggles is a subtle but powerful reflection of the systemic discrimination woven into the fabric of Canadian society.

This approach does not merely harm individual students; it reinforces a cycle of marginalization, stripping them of dignity and opportunity while allowing the institution to absolve itself of indigenous student responsibility.

Indigenous students carry the weight of historical trauma, shaped by centuries of cultural erasure and systemic neglect.

When schools demand indigenous student departure instead of addressing the deeper issue—poverty, intergenerational trauma, and a lack of culturally relevant support, they perpetuate the same colonial mentality that once sought to erase Indigenous identity entirely.

Actions justified under the guise of organizational reasoning undermine the principles of truth and reconciliation with Canadian Indigenous peoples.

Attendance issues affect students across all ethnicities. However, if school districts enforce exclusion policies specifically targeting Indigenous students, does this unfairly single them out?

For instance, if an Indigenous student with poor attendance is singled out and required to transfer to another school or district (assuming they are accepted), as Dr. Martin Brokenleg has pointed out, such a policy psychologically discourages Indigenous families. It fails to foster a sense of belonging for the student and their family.

Furthermore, if schools or districts implement attendance policies exclusively for Indigenous students, does this not sociologically contribute to their isolation? Could it be seen as a subtle form of expulsion?

Without policies to protect Indigenous students, organizations and individuals may disregard efforts toward reconciliation, perpetuating systemic inequities.

Acts of exclusion are brutal legacies of residential schools.

To reject a student rather than nurture their growth is to fail at the most basic tenet of education: to uplift, not abandon.

Canadian school districts that indulge in this practice must recognize that they are complicit in maintaining the inequalities they claim to dismantle.

True reconciliation demands more than acknowledgment; it requires action, accountability, and the courage to dismantle the structures of inequity that continue to define the lives of Indigenous peoples.

As my nieces and nephews and my sons embrace this challenge, they are active participants in the very injustice they are tasked to overcome.

How many generations of Indian children, indigenous children and their families have to fight to keep their child in a school?

The simple question is how can we accommodate your child? We want your child to be a success in a company or their own business or a government position.