Adults don’t respond as children in Chibougamau shout racist stereotypes at Cree woman

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A Cree woman says she felt sadness, shock and fear after being yelled at for several minutes at racist comments and threats by a group of elementary school students in Chibougamau, northern Quebec .

Paula Menarick filed an official complaint with the school board in question and met with the mayor of Chibougamau, Manon Cyr, on Wednesday afternoon.

Menarick said she was called a pig, asked if she was an alcoholic and threatened to be shot and swore at for more than five minutes on Tuesday afternoon outside coleVatican Elementary School II near her home. The school is part of the Center de services scolaire de la Baie-James school board.

Some of what she endured was captured on video and verified via Zoom by CBC North.

“It was so hurtful and I couldn’t believe it, it was from children. They were 9 to 12 year olds,” said Menarick, who has lived in Chibougamau for many years and is from the largest of the Cree communities, Chisasibi.

Take pictures of pearls

Menarick is a fervent beader of Cree, Inuk, Quebec and French descent.

She went to a picturesque little pond near the school. The bell rang and students streamed outside. She could hear them in the schoolyard, but didn’t immediately realize they were yelling at her.

“I was really in the zone. It was golden hour, I was really happy and doing what I love,” said Menarick, who was working remotely from home because she is pregnant. After several minutes, she realized that the children were hurling swear words, threats and racist stereotypes at her.

“The first one I really remember was, ‘You fucking pig. Are you alcoholic? Do you drink beer? What kind of beer are you drinking? They’re yelling really mean things and swearing at me,” Menarick said, adding that at least one child was threatening to kill her and shoot her with a “sniper rifle.” There was also a threat to “burn her black cat”. were in French.

Chibougamau Major Manon Cyr. (Town of Chibougamau)

There were adults in the schoolyard at the time, Menarick said.

“I wonder how come the teachers aren’t saying anything? Can’t they hear that? As these children are right next to the school and I’m a few meters from the school in the bush,” she said. .

The whole experience left her feeling triggered, reminiscent of past experiences and consistent with the growing racism in the territory.

“It really made me feel unsafe if kids say things like that, what do their parents say to them at home or to each other?” said Menarick.

Zero tolerance: Mayor

Menarick posted the verbal assault on social media on Tuesday and was invited to meet Chibougamau Mayor Manon Cyr on Wednesday afternoon.

Cyr says she has absolutely “zero tolerance” for racism and said the whole incident is a stark reminder of the importance of ongoing educational efforts. She intends to pursue the matter once the school board has completed its investigation.

“For me, for the people of Chibougamau, this is unacceptable. We cannot tolerate racist or xenophobic comments anywhere, especially not in our schoolyards,” said Cyr, who also encouraged Menarick to file a complaint and accompanied her to school. board offices and helped her through the process.

“For me, it was important for her to know what her rights are,” Cyr said, adding that she encourages anyone who feels mistreated to reach out to the ChibougamauEenou Friendship Center or to her directly.

Menarick has a last-minute video recording of the kids yelling at her, but she said they stopped pretty quickly once they realized she was filming.

She also had the audio of several racist slurs and comments before realizing what was happening, as her iPhone’s photo setting was on “live”, which records several seconds after each photo is taken.

Principal approached

Menarick said she approached an adult in the schoolyard, who introduced himself as the principal. She told him exactly what the kids had yelled at her and that she had a video of some of the slurs.

Menarick said the principal showed no interest in seeing the video, but apologized to her and explained that the children thought she had set the fire.

Curtis Bosum is the chief of the Cree community of Ouj-Bougoumou. (Ouj-Bougoumou)

“He was gaslighting me, making me feel like I was doing something wrong and it was okay for those kids to yell at me in the most disrespectful way. I couldn’t believe it,” he said. she declared.

CBC North contacted the principal and the school, but did not hear back.

Curtis Bosum, the Cree community leader of Ouj-Bougoumou, said it was the part of Menarick’s Facebook post where she described her exchange with the principal that touched him.

He contacted Mayor Cyr, whom he described as a colleague and friend, to discuss what had happened.

“We try to create harmony, but such harsh words from children are surprising and concerning. I have zero tolerance for racism or any type of bullying,” Bosum said, adding that Mayor Cyr echoed his sentiments.

“We must reach out”

For her part, Menarick says she accepted the principal’s apology and doesn’t want to make anyone look bad, including the students, the school and the town of Chibougamau.

She went public with what happened in hopes that an overwhelmingly negative experience could be turned into a positive. She hopes to see more cultural, historical and bridge-building activities between the Crees and non-Indigenous people who live in Eeyou Istchee, the traditional name for the Cree territory.

“There will be Crees here today, tomorrow and in the future. We will always be here. We need to reach out one person at a time.”

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