TakingITGlobal

Stereotypes, Tokenism, and Representation Indigenous youth are acutely aware of the changing political environment in which they are living, learning, and working. Many spoke of the reconciliation agenda and the ways this has impacted their experiences in both positive and negative ways. The increased awareness of Indigenous experiences of settler-colonialism have allowed for the establishment of Indigenous specific positions and strategies to increase Indigenous representation in post-secondary and employment institutions. While this has allowed some Indigenous students to access new opportunities, they also note that sometimes these opportunities are not used as intended. For instance, when speaking about the increase in Indigenous specific practices in schools, one youth stated "Some [non-Indigenous] students get credit for going to a ceremony and taking pictures and leaving. There's an entitlement of non-Indigenous students to ask all the questions". Young people spoke about the welcoming environment that exists in Indigenous spaces that allow for people of all cultures to learn, yet they felt that sometimes these spaces were taken advantage of. For instance, in places where ceremonial practices are available, there are many non-Indigenous people or those who falsely claim Indigenous ancestry taking space away from Indigenous students who want to learn. Having Indigenous specific environments and opportunities allows for more genuine experiences that are culturally safe. Young Indigenous people are often tokenized within schools and organizations which can be uncomfortable and detrimental to their success and learning. One youth shared "because there's such a low [Indigenous] population within the colleges and universities, a lot of teachers and students romanticize and tokenize the students. I get a lot of people running to me and asking me what an Indigenous person is. A lot of us are just going back to our ways and are still learning. These things are so personal". While cultural identity plays a crucial role in Indigenous student's lives, the expectation to be an "Indigenous expert" fosters inappropriate power relations within the classroom or workplace. In particular, students feel the tokenization of Indigeneity to be damaging to societal perceptions of Indigenous peoples when questions are largely deficit focused. For instance, young people spoke about the assumptions made by non-Indigenous educators in relation to their trauma; "We write all our taruma down and our non-Indigenous professors mark it and decide whether it is worth it". Young people reiterated that Indigenous experiences are diverse and while we may carry trauma with us as a result of colonial violence, we are not obligated to share those parts of ourselves within the classroom or workplace for non-Indigenous people to benefit from. Future Pathways Summit Report 15

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