B.C. preschool apologizes over headdress craft for National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
An Indigenous mother from B.C.'s Lower Mainland is speaking out after her son’s preschool sent students home with a culturally insensitive craft ahead of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
In a TikTok video posted Thursday, a gobsmacked Samantha Sinclair holds up an orange “headdress” made out of construction paper and feathers.
"This is what all the kids came marching out wearing," Sinclair says while sitting in a car, shortly after arriving at her son’s preschool to pick him up. "This was their craft for Reconciliation Day, a headdress."
Speaking to CTV News, Sinclair said there were several other parents who immediately felt uncomfortable after seeing their children leaving the preschool with their crafts.
"They were like, is this not wildly inappropriate?" Sinclair said. "And I was like, yes, it is."
She described headdresses as one of the most common pieces of Indigenous culture to be appropriated, noting that headdresses are still routinely sold as Halloween costumes.
"It's always something we have issues with," Sinclair said. "Then to normalize it and perpetuate that in a younger generation … we're trying to break those cycles, we're not trying to continue them."
As she explained to her son about headdresses after they got home, "This is not for everybody to wear."
The mother, who is the owner and designer of S & K Collective, told CTV News she wanted to raise awareness, but was not interested in naming the preschool or damaging its reputation. A number of people emailed the school after she posted her TikTok, and Sinclair said the teacher reached out to personally apologize.
Linc Kesler, an associate professor at UBC's Institute of Critical Indigenous Studies, said the incident mirrored one he experienced picking his own daughters up from school in the United States roughly 40 years ago, around the time of American Thanksgiving.
“I pulled the teacher aside for a little chat, and she was very surprised that I had a problem with it,” said Kesler, whose ancestry is Oglala Lakota. "I've been having exactly these kinds of conversations for most of my life.”
Kesler told CTV News he appreciates there was a well-meaning attempt to acknowledge Canada’s residential school history in the craft headdresses made this week – the words “Every Child Matters” were written on each – but said activities like these still miss the mark.
The associate professor suggested that speaking with an Indigenous person beforehand could help teachers avoid accidentally causing offense.
"The impulse to do something is positive," he said. "The failure to engage with Indigenous communities about what that thing should be leaves room for some significant improvement."
With files from CTV News Vancouver's Tahmina Aziz
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Live updates: What star witness in Trump hush money case has said on the stand so far
The star prosecution witness in Donald Trump's hush money trial took the stand Monday with testimony that could help shape the outcome of the first criminal case against an American president.
Police release 3D images of young child found in an Ontario river two years ago
Police have released a three-dimensional image of a young child whose remains were discovered in the Grand River in Dunnville, Ont. almost two years ago.
Kamala Harris drops F-bomb during White House live-stream
U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris used a profanity on Monday while offering advice to young Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders about how to break through barriers.
Wildfire smoke drifts across Canada, over parts of U.S., prompting air quality advisories
Air quality advisories are in effect across Western Canada as smoky conditions plague some areas, according to the latest forecasts. Here's where.
When you have a moment's notice to evacuate, what do you take?
Knowing what to have at home, or take with you for an evacuation, can be useful and even life-saving.
'A great victory for the industry': Taxi drivers celebrate ruling that found City of Ottawa negligent in allowing Uber to operate
An Ontario Superior Court judge has ruled that the City of Ottawa was negligent in its enforcement of the city's taxi bylaw when it allowed Uber to begin operating in 2014, harming the city's established taxi industry.
'Judge Judy' Sheindlin sues for defamation over National Enquirer, InTouch Weekly stories
'Judge Judy' Sheindlin sued the parent company of the National Enquirer and InTouch Weekly on Monday for a story that she said falsely claimed that she was trying to help the Menendez brothers get a retrial after they were convicted of murdering their parents.
Western University researchers unlock potential 'cure' for ALS
New research out of London, Ont.’s Western University is shedding light on a potential cure for ALS, in which the targeting of the interaction between two proteins can halt or fully reverse the disease’s progression.
New York City FC coach repeats denial of allegations he punched a Toronto FC player
New York City FC coach Nick Cushing has repeated his denial of allegations that he punched a Toronto FC player, saying he is shocked and upset at the claim.