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Archives > Summer 1996 articles
Encouragement in Education, Pride in Heritage
First Nations Programs Reach Disillusioned Students at the
Native Education Centre
I can remember a time when I was ashamed to tell people I
was an Indian. My family had lost many cultural traditions
over the years, including our language, because of the shame
of identifying ourselves as Aboriginal people. I grew up integrated
into the public school system, struggling to fit in. Struggling
with my identity as one of the few, if not the only Native
kid in class. In Grade One my elementary school principal
pulled me out of class into the hall and asked me which band
I was from. I had no clue what he meant. I didn't play any
instruments. He was looking for team names in intramural sports.
That was about as much as my elementary school taught me about
Indians.
I remember a time when in high school my curiosity of being
an Indian and what that meant led me to the school library,
which was a place I did not visit often. I wanted to know
more about my people, the Tshimshian. What I found was devastating;
the book portrayed us as savage people who ate human flesh.
We were cannibals. Needless to say, I never returned to the
library unless absolutely necessary.
In my teens I can remember being in a situation where people
would wonder what my background was because of my dark skin.
"I'm Indian... But I'm a good Indian" I would explain, feeling
the need to set myself apart from the stereotypes of what
an Indian was. This was not that long ago. I barely graduated
from high school in 1988. The same public school system that
forced assimilation onto my mother and denied her the right
to be proud of her culture, was now continuing the cycle with
me. I had no intention of furthering my education. I felt
I wasn't smart enough. After all the humiliation and struggles
I endured, that I was always left to deal with alone at whatever
age, I wasn't left with much determination or inspiration
to do anything.
A lack of support for cross-cultural programs at
every level (social, political, personal), along with
misrepresentation and ignorance serves to preserve the
sterotypes of First Nations people.
Today I am proud of my identity. I am proud of who I am.
I am proud of what I do and I am confident that I can do whatever
I want. I owe this to the experience I had at the Native Education
Centre (NEC) and my instructors of the Family and Community
Counselling Program where I graduated. The experience I had
at NEC was extremely empowering. I had the opportunity to
grow and learn in an environment that was safe and extremely
encouraging and supportive of my cultural and individual identity.
All of the students in my class were treated as equals. Our
instructors felt they had as much to learn from us as we did
from them. The work we did was continuously encouraged and
supported. In addition to this, we had the opportunity to
learn more about our culture. This was an atmosphere I was
unfamiliar with compared to the regular public school system.
Currently, several public institutions and social services
have made accommodations in order to become more multiculturally
aware, specifically to Aboriginal people. Many public schools
have recently introduced First Nations Studies courses as
elective courses for students. The Ministry of Social Services
is beginning to recognize the damaging effects of apprehending
Aboriginal children to be placed in non-native homes and are
working toward having these children remain within the Native
community. These are only two examples of the changes which
are taking place within our community to strengthen the awareness
of the unique experience of aboriginal people within it.
However, aboriginal people are still over-represented in
areas such as suicide and death rates, substance abuse rates,
poverty statistics and family violence rates. A lack of support
for cross-cultural programs at every level (social, political,
personal), along with misrepresentation and ignorance serves
to preserve the stereotypes of First Nations people. European
contact still has many strong negative effects on our people.
Residential schools had severe consequences for those who
attended and for several generations that followed. The introduction
of the Department of Indian Affairs continued to promote the
racism and discrimination of Native people by using their
own fabricated standards to determine who could and could
not identify themselves as "Indian".
Past injustices still affect our lives today. Native and
non-native. We must continue to provide our strong multicultural
communities with opportunities to become more aware of issues
pertaining to all our people throughout Canada in order for
peaceful resolution in our struggle for equality. It is of
great importance that these opportunities be made available
socially, politically and personally. But of even greater
importance is that we as individuals become responsible and
willing to acknowledge and respect the myriad of diverse cultural
backgrounds within our communities, our provinces and our
country. Or course we have a choice. We can continue to play
a submissive and passive role in this capitalist patriarchal
society until we completely self-destruct, or we can face
the challenge of learning to live together peacefully so that
eventually we can live unified and harmonious lives.
We are continuously surrounded by social inequality. Programs
such as Family and Community Counselling at the Native Education
Centre offer a unique opportunity to First Nations people
to learn in an environment that encourages not only their
cultural identity but their individuality as well. This kind
of experience inspires individuals to grow to their fullest
potential, and to strengthen their self-esteem and self-confidence,
which are extremely vulnerable in today's society.
In order to rebuild healthy communities we need to have
more programs such as the Family and Community Counselling
program to provide students with a safe and secure environment
in which to learn. If we want to promote continuing education,
we need to encourage and support our future students, rather
then humiliate and discourage them.
As a community we also need to support the emergence of
other new empowering and positive programs that encourage
individual identity. The standards and norms currently set
up in our education system suffocate students at every level.
Those who do not conform to their rigid rules are devalued
and denied the same privileges as those with education.
Cross-cultural issues within the education system are important.
Recognizing the uniqueness of each individual student and
then honoring and respecting that individuality is just as
important. If we want to decrease family violence, suicide,
homicide, and poverty rates, we must as individuals and as
community members take an active role in supporting and advocating
individual rights and freedom within the school system, along
with all other social institutions and organizations.
I quiver at the thought of the cycles of abuse and violence
I was destined to continue had the doors of the Native Education
Centre not been open to me.
For more information on the Native Education Centre and
the courses offered there, please contact the school directly
at 873-3761 or toll-free at 1-800-667-3230
Arlene Roper, Family Violence Resource Specialist
Native Education Centre
285 East 5th Avenue
Vancouver, B.C. V5T 1H2
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