An Indigenous student in Winnipeg is taking a stand over not standing for the anthem.
15 year-old Skyla Hart, a student at River East Collegiate, was pulled from class and reprimanded for not standing for the Canadian anthem.
Hart says it’s a decision she made 5 years ago in honour of her Ojibway and Cree ancestry.
She also says the decision hasn’t been a problem until this year.
Hart says the saga started when she was asked to stand in the hall for refusing to stand for the anthem, at which point she chose to sit in the hall instead to maintain her belief.
A different teacher then yelled at her, and requested she stand.
Days later, Hart was again called out by teachers when she continued to walk in the hallway after the anthem began to play.
Since her endeavour has become public, she is using it to fight for support for Indigenous students not only at her school, but across Canada.
She says the anthem would have to be re-written in order for her to justify standing for the anthem of a colonizer government.
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