First Nation teen told not to wear 'Got Land?' shirt at school
CBC News Posted: Jan 14, 2014 11:36 PM CT Last Updated: Jan 15, 2014 9:02 AM CT
Controversy resolved after additional meetings with nearby First Nation
A Saskatchewan student was told not to wear a sweatshirt in school that has the words "Got Land? Thank an Indian" on it, although officials have since relented.
Tenelle Star, 13, is in Grade 8 and goes to school in Balcarres, about 90 kilometres northeast of Regina. She is a member of the nearby Star Blanket First Nation.
"It supports our treaty and land rights ... It's important." Star told CBC News Tuesday, as the issue over the message on her shirt reverberated at her school and online through her Facebook page.
The front of her bright pink sweatshirt says "Got Land?" The back says "Thank an Indian". The message references the link between historic treaties and land for what would become Canada.
In Saskatchewan, most First Nations have treaties with the Crown dating to the late 1800s. The so-called Numbered Treaties, which cover all of Saskatchewan, are formal agreements that created a relationship between the Crown and First Nations.
Star said she wore her new sweatshirt to school on the first day of classes after the Christmas break, with no problems.
Since then, however, she was told other students had complained about the message on her sweater and was asked to change.
"They told me to remove my sweater because it was offending other people," she said.
Star added that one of her teachers told her that some people viewed the message as racist.
"I didn't think it was racist," she said, adding she was embarrassed by the request to change. Although she did wear a cousin's shirt on the day she was first asked to change, she wore the sweatshirt again on subsequent school days.
That led to a meeting with school officials, Star and her mother.
After that, she was told to wear the sweater inside out.
"I didn't really want to," Star said. "I thought, what's the point of wearing it inside out?"
Star said she reminded officials about some of the lessons she had learned.
"We were taught Indians were on this land first," she said. "So why are people offended?"
Tenelle Star goes to school in Balcarres, Sask., about 90 kilometres northeast of Regina. (CBC)
She later learned that some people in the community had contacted the school to complain about the sweater, although it was not clear how they came to hear about the shirt.
Tenelle said all the attention has been stressful and she can't understand how the shirt generated such controversy.
"I wear it proudly around the school," she said, even though some students have told her the message is "cheeky" and "rude".
Controversy resolved
Additional meetings between the school and leaders of the Star Blanket First Nation led to an understanding that Star's sweatshirt, and its message, were acceptable after all.
"We're all on the same page," Sheldon Poitras, a council member from the reserve, told CBC News Tuesday night. "They're in full support of the students wearing that type of a T-shirt or sweater and they had no intention of infringing on anything."
Poitras said he believes some parents were reacting to overblown reports, from other students, about the message on Star's sweatshirt.
"They didn't understand what was really going on, or what was meant by the shirts being worn," he said.
First Nation teen told not to wear 'Got Land?' shirt at school
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Originally Posted by DonJuan
I've ran into my fair share of drunks wearing those. Which is sad, because they aren't all like that. Some of my good friends are native back on the island.
