rants

rant 37

why do ppl treat indigenous ppl like anomalies?

ok so back in, idk elementary or gr 5 i had an indigenous friend. im just gonna call her celia (not her real name) n I did get her consent to post this but just very oversimplified to not give away any info. that's also why I'm not gonna say which indigenous community bc she didn't want me to share

the only time celia ever shared much abt her heritage was when she was asked. so our teacher, who ill just call Mrs t, immediately said "oh wow! That's so cool celia! You'll be so helpful in our social studies unit coming up!"

innocent right? yh until we reached the unit

she was talking abt the European settlers, as well as the residential schools b4 suddenly pointing to celia

she said something along the lines of "celia, were your parents or grandparents in the residential schools?? did they tell u how they felt or the hardships they experienced??"

celia said she didn't wanna share. Mrs t kept prodding at her

"Cmon, just tell us! it's a learning experience for us all."

celia was obvi getting agitated, and soon Mrs t did stop

like a week later, we were reading a passage. then Mrs t asked celia if she could say something in her language

celia said no, bc she did not know it

then Mrs t said "oh is it bc the teachers at the residential school stripped your ancestors of their culture? im so sorry to hear that. can u relate to the book we just read?" the book was fatty legs btw, it's a nice book I recommend it and the sequel

Anyways, who the fuck says that. like what the hell.

celia started crying, and all Mrs t did was continue to prod and say controversial shit

no bc why are people so insensitive?

like what the fuck goes through their head when they question obviously controversial and tough topics?

they act like native Americans aren't people. it's so dehumanizing. i don't know celia much anymore, but we still talk from time to time, and she's told me that the behavior had not stopped one bit. maybe even gotten worse.

one statement I have to share.

stop being insensitive and stupid