The family of a 10-year-old Indigenous boy is speaking out against what the say is ongoing racism and bullying in a southern Saskatchewan school.
The FSIN held a press conference Monday morning, where Vice-Chief David Pratt and the family of the boy spoke on alleged racist slurs and physical assaults targeted towards the First Nations child at a school in Coronach. They say the issue has been ongoing over a five-year period.
The Indigenous lobby organization says they are bringing the concerns forward as it says the boy has made statements about self-harm as a result of these attacks. One alleged incident was reported to have happened in recent weeks and involved the RCMP.
“They are failing to protect this child,” said David Pratt. “They need to immediately respond to this situation. It’s well past time this stops.”
According to the FSIN and the boy’s family, the child has been the target of racially motivated abuse by several other children at the school. The family feels the school has not taken these acts seriously and the bullying has continued.
The family also says on several occasions the school never informed them when any violent incident occurred.
Vice-Chief Pratt says he wants two things to happen. Pratt wants the school and school board to enforce their own policies around bullying. He also says he wants school boards to make schools safe spaces for all children, not just the boy who was bullied at Coronach School.
Ivy Delorme, the grandmother of the boy, says “the past five years has not been an easy journey for us.”
“I felt my grandson and my daughter were not being heard,” said Delorme.
The distraught grandmother called for change.
“We want to spread awareness, we want to acknowledge the policy needs to be followed, and thirdly we want change,” she said. “I’m done… I don’t ever want to see my grandson suffer another day as he has in the past five years.”
David Pratt says a meeting is planned on Tuesday with representatives from the school, the school division, and the family. He is hoping for positive outcomes from that meeting.
Coronach is located in southern Saskatchewan just north of the American border. The boy is a band member of nearby Chacachas First Nation.