The Indigenous student

The challenges faced by Indigenous student..

When Ahniwake Rose's 8-year-old daughter goes to her elementary school in November, she will have to explain to her teacher why she won't be participating in the Thanksgiving Day pageant. The fairy tale of a budding Indian-Pilgrim friendship, performed by non-Native students in craft-paper headdresses, disrespects her heritage — and it's something the little girl can't support.
Rose, who is Cherokee and Muscogee Creek, names this as just one moment of many that Indigenous students have to navigate in an educational system that renders them invisible.

Indigenous children around the world have long been denied  the right to celebrate their roots while getting a comprehensive education. They're up against major inequalities, from structural racism embedded in school systems to inaccurate retelling of history.

Aug. 9 is International day for Indigenous people a time to acknowledge the struggles and celebrate the resilience of Indigenous communities, while also shining a light on the inequalities they still face. This year, the theme is the right to education for Indigenous children around the globe.

While Indigenous communities have long-established ways of balancing tradition with education, advocates says the pressure to participate in mainstream — or non-Indigenous — life has made public schooling almost inevitable. But that doesn’t mean Indigenous students always feel welcomed or embraced.

According to UNESCO, there are an estimated  370 million Indigenous people in the world — nearly 5 percent of the global population, living across 90 countries. Their right to education is protected by the  United Nation Declaration on the  Right of Indigenous People of  which extends to most regions where Indigenous peoples live. But while it's written in print, advocates say education equality in practice is still a fallacy.

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