Toronto school board should vet identity of self-identifying Indigenous staff, say former student, parent

A former student and parent of Kâpapâmahchakwêw - Wandering Spirit School in Toronto are calling on Canada's largest school board to create a policy that vets applicants who claim to be Indigenous when they're applying for positions at Indigenous-focused schools or programs. 

Michael Peters recently graduated from Wandering Spirit and says in his later years at the school, some students began to take issue with a teacher he says was "claiming to be Indigenous."

"It really impacted the learning of the students and it really impacted the teaching of Indigenous peoples, because if these people aren't Indigenous, how can they really teach through an Indigenous lens?" 

As it stands now, the Toronto District School Board (TDSB), like many employers, relies on an honour system of self-identification when it comes to those claiming Indigenous identity.

There is no policy or vetting process for those who say they are Indigenous and apply to work at schools like Wandering Spirit that provide an Indigenous-focused education and immerses students in Indigenous culture and traditions.

"The policy is anyone can say they're Indigenous and they have to just listen to them. There's no vetting process," said Deanne Hupfield. Her children have attended Wandering Spirit and her husband, John Hupfield, is also the chair of the school's parent council. 

Deanne Hupfield used to work at the TDSB's Urban Indigenous Education Centre, which shares a building with Wandering Spirit, and helps guide the TDSB's curriculum and connects students with Indigenous services.

"It's a growing problem in the Indigenous community where people just self identify and come into our communities and take positions of authority," she said. 

The TDSB told CBC Toronto it's working on a procedure that would take into consideration a staff member's identity. It also said Wandering Spirit's parent council helps inform the interview questions for those applying to work at the school. 

"The Care Givers Circle (Parent Council) at Kâpapâmahchakwêw-Wandering Spirit School have been informing the process. The TDSB is in the early stages of developing a procedure that will be informed by Indigenous communities," the TDSB said in a statement.

According to parent council chair John Hupfield, the principal met with the group to discuss hiring criteria in May 2023. He said the council voiced concerns about staff who self-identified as Indigenous and the impacts this had on children. 

"In particular brand new teachers with minimal teaching experience gaining employment at WSS with unclear connections to Indigenous Nations/communities," John Hupfield wrote in a statement to CBC News. "And the administration was open to discussion around our concerns." 

He said the council provided input to address one of the interview questions, "but at this stage, the Indigenous community has no control or decision making power over these decisions."

Peters, who is Anishinaabe from Long Plain First Nation in Manitoba, first attended Wandering Spirit in 2017 after his family moved back to Toronto.