Trust. Integrity. Reputation.
July - 2009Thunder Bay teacher's aide crosses a cultural line
By Isha Thompson
Windspeaker Staff Writer
THUNDER BAY, Ont.
It was only two inches of hair cut from the head of a seven-year-old Aboriginal boy by a teaching assistant in Thunder Bay on April 16, but the significance of the act was so much more than just a school teacher stepping over the bounds of a student teacher relationship.
The fallout from the haircut became a lesson in cultural awareness, and the message sent was clear: Tampering with the sacred and the traditional beliefs of the first peoples in Ontario will not be tolerated.
"When you've chopped off someone's hair you have taken away their pride," said traditional healing coordinator Teresa Magiskan. She works with the the Anishnawbe Mushkiki Health Centre in Thunder Bay.
"The worst thing to do to someone, historically, is to take their hair," she explained. Magiskan was reminded of past centuries where men were shamed by their enemies in battles by having their hair taken from them.
Magiskan, who has been involved with the cultural teachings program at the centre for the past five years, said even the length of hair and the way it is styled can be incredibly symbolic in Aboriginal culture. She said some traditionalists believe that the cutting of hair represents a time of mourning the loss of a loved one.
The boy's mother who asked not to be named- was quoted in the Globe and Mail comparing the importance of hair to Aboriginal culture as the Kippot or yarmulke is to Jewish tradition. Hebrew men wear the caps on their heads as a sign of respect to their religion.
"You have to respect that," she said. "It's the same thing."
The reality is, however, most people are not aware of the symbolic nature hair has in Aboriginal culture. That was apparent in the reaction to the event after the hair cutting incident was reported to the public. A diverse range of opinions were voiced when it was reported that the teaching assistant would not face charges, but would be suspended from her job for choosing to cut another parent's child's hair without permission.
Social networking sites and comment boards were the perfect places for people to vent. More than 12,000 people joined a Facebook group that requested members sign a petition demanding "justice" and serious consequences to be faced by the teaching assistant and school board.
Many posted comments on sites that said the boy was a victim of discrimination and called for the teacher's aide to be charged criminally.
"This is outrageous! If anyone cut my child's hair without permission, I would be demanding the police to charge them. I hope that this parent does take this T.A. to court and wins," read a comment on the CBC Web site on May 26.
Others couldn't understand why there was so much anger towards a teacher, who some argued, was attempting to help the boy remove hair from his eyes.
"Some hair was cut. Big deal. Unfortunate, but it grows back," read a comment on another site.
The incident at McKellar Park Central Public School brought back bad memories for some Elders who experienced similar treatment in residential schools across the country.
Mike Cachagee, executive director of the National Residential School Survivors Society, explained that this story stirred up painful memories of his time in an off-reserve school in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. during the 1950s.
"I remember when we were going to high school and the teacher said he would pay for [my brother] to go get a haircut," said Cachagee, who explained the intolerance towards Aboriginal students looking different.
Cachagee said the teacher assumed his family couldn't afford to cut his brother's hair. He said the haircutting incident now 50-plus years later still suggested a great lack of understanding about the spiritual connection hair has in many Aboriginal ceremonies.
"Even the use of Sweetgrass is a sacred element. It is the hair of mother earth," Cachagee said of the grass that is braided and then burned in many Aboriginal rituals.
As a spiritual teacher in Shoal Lake, Man., Ron Indian-Mandamin is familiar with the traditional role hair plays in Aboriginal culture. He described how in the past hairstyles worn by both women and men communicated a variety of messages.
"It has to do with our status in a certain tribe. You'll see men have two braids on each side and on the front of their head in a little crown. That denotes warriorship," explained Indian-Mandamin, who is Ojibway.
"We identify with that long hair. It represents power and strength."
Indian-Mandamin said the information about that connection to hair is not necessarily available in books. Most of his teachings were passed down from Elders within his community. Still Indian-Mandamin understands the anger and frustration of the Ontario First Nation community over the incident.
"Around here nobody touches your hair unless it is your husband or your wife," he said in a stern voice. "No one is allowed to touch your hair."
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