Indigenous students can face huge challenges getting into and staying in Cégep. According to Statistics Canada, in 2021, just under half (49.2%) of Indigenous people aged 25 to 64 years had completed a postsecondary certificate, degree, or diploma, a rate much lower than that of non-Indigenous people (68.0%).i
Many of these barriers are systemic, built into settler educational institutions in order to protect white privilege. Others can be linked to the intergenerational trauma caused by colonialism. That trauma can manifest as mental health issues, struggles with addiction, and dealing with a legacy of violence. As many college intervention workers have noted, to effectively help a student, it’s vital to understand where they are coming from. Jessica Quijano, a social worker at Dawson College’s First Peoples’ Centre, shares her thoughts and experiences on the systemic and personal challenges faced by Indigenous students, and how to best support them.
Where Indigenous Students Are Coming From
For many Indigenous youths, attending Cégep means leaving their small, tight-knit communities. They are 17-year-olds navigating city life and living on their own for the first time. “They can be really homesick”, reports Quijano, who sees many of Dawson’s 120 Indigenous students daily at the College’s Indigenous-run First Peoples’ Centre.
Because of the legacy of colonial violence, a disproportionate number of Indigenous youths are caregivers for family members. She notes, “a lot of the students come with difficult situations at home. There might be mental health issues within their families, addiction and intergenerational trauma. We have a lot of single parents who come here. So, it’s multifaceted how many challenges they have.”
The Education System
Once they arrive on campus, Indigenous students face another kind of challenge: the education system. The system carries a long and painful history of forced assimilation, cultural erasure and violence for Indigenous peoples. These are not safe spaces.
Also, while some Cégeps, like Dawson College and College Ahuntsic, have made a commitment to decolonize and indigenize their establishments, the system remains fundamentally Eurocentric in its approach to learning and teaching. It can be alienating. “In the end, they have to navigate a Western institution, which is sometimes complicated. We have to equip them” says Quijano. At Dawson, that support comes from the First Peoples’ Centre, where academic and social services are centralized for students and all-Indigenous staff advocate for them.
A Different Approach to Dealing With Violence
For First Nations and Inuit peoples, there is an intergenerational trauma that comes from centuries of violence inflicted on them by colonial governments and religious institutions. Quijano states, “people do not become this way and sexually assault people unless they themselves have experienced violence throughout. I think that piece is often missing in sexual violence.”
In her work with students, particularly when it comes to sexual violence, she is careful to also consider the experience of people who have done harm. “It’s very black and white, just putting people in prison. Here at the College, I deal with the sexual assault cases of Indigenous students, and it’s a very different approach than, let’s say, how the Counselling Department would. The idea that the situation would go through the colonial court system would not be my first response.”
In fact, the incarceration rate for Indigenous people is 8.9 times higher than for non-Indigenous people in Canada.ii Quijano adds, “We know that when we put people in and out of the prison system, we increase the chances of a feminicide. Our system is very much broken.” She prefers Restorative Justice, an approach with indigenous roots that aims to give to those who have been harmed more agency and allows those who have done harm to take responsibility and find ways to make amends, “it’s about the victim having a voice in how they want to be seen, and it’s also for the person that commits the harm to really acknowledge and take accountability. Sometimes, when we take away prison, people can actually find ways to heal and deal with the issue. »
The Takeaway
Jessica Quijano sums it up this way: “I think it’s super important to know the history, to be informed about what the history is. Learn about different communities. Don’t make assumptions, because each student is different. Also, be critical of your system. It’s not necessarily the best place for Indigenous students. In these institutions, there are fewer challenges if you have always been in a city, if you’re white and you’re going to Cégep. The education system is different for them. Just take that into account. That’s what it means to be educated about Indigenous students.”
References
Chichekian, Tanya. Bragoli-Barzan, Lea (2020). Challenges encoutered by Idigenous youth in postsecondary education. McGill Journal of Education. Available on: < CHALLENGES ENCOUNTERED BY INDIGENOUS YOUTH IN POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION | McGill Journal of Education / Revue des sciences de l’éducation de McGill >
Dion, Jacynth et al, Sexual Violence at University: Are Indigenous Students More at Risk? Journal of Interpersonal Violence 1-22. Available on: < https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/08862605211021990 >.
Rivers, Jevhon (2023, June 13). How do we address sexual violence without contributing to the harms of mass incarceration? The Emancipator. Available on: < https://theemancipator.org/2023/06/13/topics/legal-system/how-do-we-address-sexual-violence-without-contributing-harms-mass-incarceration/ >
Statistics Canada (2023, July). Over-representation of Indigenous persons in adult provincial custody, 2019/2020 and 2020/2021.
Available on: < https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/85-002-x/2023001/article/00004-eng.htm >.
Statistics Canada (2023, October). Postsecondary educational attainment and labour market outcomes among Indigenous people in Canada, findings from the 2021 Census.
Available on: < https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/75-006-x/2023001/article/00012-eng.htm >.
