These Teachers Wore Fake Indigenous Headdresses For The First Day Of Classes

The school previously had a blackface controversy.

Teachers at an elementary school in Montreal wore fake Indigenous headdresses and offered similar ones to their students on the first day of classes.

Jennifer Dorner / Via facebook.com

Jennifer Dorner, who has two daughters and a niece attending École Lajoie in Outremont, said she was disappointed with the school for its cultural appropriation.

"Maybe it's time to demand cultural sensitivity training in all schools," Dorner wrote on Facebook, where she shared a photo of two Grade 3 teachers in bright headdresses. "Enough is enough!!!"

Dorner said her niece didn't feel comfortable wearing her headdress. "It’s unfair for the children to be put in that position," she told BuzzFeed Canada.

Jennifer Dorner

A spokesperson for the Commission scolaire Marguerite-Bourgeoys told BuzzFeed Canada the headdresses were used part of a class activity focused on Aboriginal peoples, and they were also meant to help students find their teachers on the first day of school.

"The activity in question was educational in nature and was organized as part of a social sciences course," said Gina Guillemette. "Once in the classroom, students were made aware of the contributions of various Aboriginal communities to Québec society. This is a theme that will be addressed this year."

Guillemette also offered an apology "if the activity offended some people, as this was in no way our intention."

"It certainly is misguided and misinformed, because clearly those are not traditional Indigenous headdresses and clothing," Dorner said.

Headdresses have specific spiritual or cultural meanings to many First Nations. They've also become a bit of a hipster accessory, and several music festivals including the Winnipeg Folk Festival and Montreal's Osheaga have discouraged or banned headdresses.

Dorner said this wasn't the first time the school lacked in cultural sensitivity.

emsb.qc.ca / Via emsb.qc.ca

In 2014, the school staged a Christmas play in which Santa went to Africa and was infected with an Ebola-like illness, according to Dorner. Dorner said that before she intervened, her daughter was to play a "tribal" person who danced around in blackface.

The school eventually backed down on requiring children to darken their faces, but Dorner said they "didn't seem to understand fully" why she objected.